—:¤ Boy meets dad :¤—
by Kagome Taisho
Summary: ॰¦Canon to AU¦॰ Spoiler warnings for the OVAs. ܀ BACK TO THE FUTURE–ish, Kenji style ܀
1. In the beginning

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN**, THIS IS JUST A FANFIC MADE BY A TERRIBLY OBSESSED KENSHIN FAN SO PLEASE DON'T SUE ME :P

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Summary: Kenji accidentally goes back to Kenshin's past and gets the chance to get to know his father better. Spoiler warnings for the OVAs. Might contain OCC-ness since this is my 1st ever fanfic & 1st ever Kenshin fic. PG13 just to be safe.

**PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

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Three years have gone by since Kenshin Himura passed away, leaving his family behind. Not long after his passing, his wife, Kaoru Himura, died as well. Doctor Megumi Takani said it was because of the mysterious illness that his mother acquired from his father, but Kenji Himura, now age 17, believed that his mother died of a broken heart.

Kaoru couldn't bear to be without Kenshin so not soon after his passing, she followed him into the afterlife, leaving behind their only son.

Kenji grew up loathing his father, hating him for not being there for him and his mother when he was growing up. While he was learning his first kendou moves, his father had been 'saving Japan', as his beloved mother had so aptly put it.

When other fathers were teaching their sons about the birds and the bees, Kenji was worrying about his mother's constant trips to the pier, waiting for his wandering father to come home.

Growing up, he could never understand how his father could leave them and wander around Japan to 'protect the weak'. He even ran away from home at age 14 and went to Seijouro Hiko, his father's mentor, thirteenth master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style of swordsmanship.

He wanted to understand his father, get to know where he came from. If he couldn't get the answers from his father himself, since he was often away, he was going to ask the man who raised him. Hiko had welcomed him into his hut and taught him a different type of sword style from the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu that he inherited from his mother.

Just when he was learning, his almost-adoptive brother/uncle, Yahiko Myojin, came to fetch him.

He was given the sakabatou overnight and was told to reflect on how Kenshin _embodied_ the sword. Yahiko had meant to teach him a little something about Kenshin that day, make him understand why his father left his family for other people.

He got his butt kicked in the fight. He might have been very skilled with the sword, some say that he was as skilled or probably more skilled than his father was, but Yahiko-kun had poured all his heart and soul into that sword fight, beating Kenji.

The defeat humbled him, allowing Yahiko to drag him back home to his mother who needed him.

He felt guilty as hell afterwards, even if he couldn't quite grasp why his mother didn't have any complaints about his rurouni father, he loved his mother deeply. Witnessing her battle her illness in hopes of seeing her husband's homecoming urged him to make a promise to himself that he would try and get to know his father better upon his return.

But as fate would have it, Kenshin Himura died the same day that he returned to Tokyo.

Kenji couldn't figure out how his mother knew where to meet Kenshin, under the cherry blossom trees.

It was bittersweet in a way. He was glad for his mother, glad that she got to see her beloved husband one more time before his passing, but he also felt sorry for himself. Sorry that he didn't get to fulfill the promise he made to himself about getting to know his otousan better.

In the new age of the Meiji, swords were no longer necessary. The days of the Samurai were slowly dying away, if they weren't already dead and buried. Swords no longer had any use in the Meiji Era, as they were replaced by Western Guns and Ammo.

Still, after Kaoru passed away, Kenji returned to Kyoto and finished his training with Master Hiko. He had no remaining living relatives now, except for the Hiten Mitsurugi master whom he grew to consider as his ojiisan (grandfather).

The man worked him hard, day after day, night after night. Not only that, Kenji also pushed himself to the limit.

Kenshin learned and trained for 6 years under Hiko-sama, and then returned to complete his training more than a decade later. Kenji was determined to inherit the sword style in half the time his father learned it plus some.

With the demonic pace he set on himself, Kenji Himura became the Fifteenth successor of the Hiten Mitsurugi style in the span of only three years.

Yahiko had been kind enough to pass the sakabatou on to Kenji, who was able to repeat history by not killing the Hiten Mitsurugi master after the apprentice was able to overcome the master's Kuzu Ryu Sen.

With the completion of the succession technique, Kenji felt one step closer to his father.

Considering that Seijouro Hiko was the closest thing Kenji had to a living relative, not counting Yahiko, it was no wonder that he asked his master/ojiisan to come live with him at the dojo back in Tokyo several times before.

During one of those instances, the ever self-assured thirteenth master huffed and assured him that he had no desire to leave "his" mountains, but promised to visit Kenji once in a while just to check up on him; Teasing him about "keeping an eye" on him so as not to go wandering or join some faction to over-throw the government.

_Three years,_ he thought to himself as he adjusted his pack over his shoulder and secured his prized heirloom – the sakabatou – on his hip. His heart clenched at the thought of leaving his master all alone here.

He didn't want to risk getting Amakakeru Ryuu No Hirameki-ed off the waterfall by voicing his concern about the perils of being alone of a man at his master's age, so he prudently kept his mouth shut.

"Well baka ousonchan." Remarked Hiko who liked to call him 'idiot little grandson' since he was idiot enough to 'confess' feeling like Hiko was his grandfather, "As much as I enjoyed you staying with me and eating me out of house and home like my baka deshi, your father, did, it's time for you to go home and build your own life."

Kenji could almost detect a hint of sadness in the older man's voice. Almost.

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Hikosama?" He dared inquire one last time.

If it were possible, Seijouro Hiko's chest puffed out bigger as his nose raised two inches higher up in the air. "Thanks but no thanks, I'm quite happy living in my mountains. Demo," he added, "I promise I'll come visit you once in a while just to see how you're doing." He looked at Kenji almost fondly before the look disappeared from his face and the same arrogant mask reappeared.

Kenji knew better, he smiled.

"Alright then," Kenji bowed respectfully. "Don't stay away for too long shishou. You know I can't take care of myself." He sniggered quietly to himself, knowing that his master would probably crack and visit him within a month.

His master snorted and waved him off as he went on his way to journey back to Tokyo.

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	2. Visiting Tomoe

**I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN, THIS IS JUST A FANFIC MADE BY A TERRIBLY OBSESSED KENSHIN FAN SO PLEASE DON'T SUE ME :P**

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I haven't read any of the manga and we didn't really get to see a lot of Kenji in the OVA, so I'm doing my own version of Kenji.

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Kenji planned to take the Tokaido route back to Tokyo, but he wasn't going home just yet. After a brief stop at the Aoiya to bid farewell to the Oniwabanshu, namely Misao and Aoshi as well as Okina the jijisan no hentai (perverted old man), he bought some flowers and headed to the spot where his father's first wife was buried to pay his respects. 

It wasn't his first time visiting. He came with Master Hiko before, the price of which was to pay for the two jugs of sake the man loved so much as well as lugging buckets of water from the spring and to the bath house. For a whole month, everyday as he filled and refilled the man's bath. He learned the hard way how it pays to ask a favor from the swordsman, but it was well worth it in his opinion.

In order for him to understand his father, he had to cover every corner, turn every stone of his father's past and scrutinize it. His father's first wife was very well, a big stone to turn.

He knew about the story behind the death of one Tomoe Himura.

Knew that she was the reason why Battoussai the Manslayer turned into Kenshin Himura the wandering swordsman after the Bakamatsu.

Every time Kenji thought about her, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy in behalf of his mother.

The sun was high up in the sky as he made his way through the quiet cemetery. Stopping in front of a simple headstone, he placed a single jasmine flower upon it.

He brought his hands together, bowed and started praying. _'I don't know if you can hear me, Tomoesan, and I don't even know if you know me.' _ He took a deep breath, feeling kind of silly talking to the woman like this. _'You were my father's first wife, you saved him from the madness he was in during the Bakamatsu… but at what price? He wandered Japan for ten years, more after that even after he bore my mother a son, not allowing me to get to know who he was.' _All the anger he felt for his father's absence resurfaced again and he tempered it down, calling upon his training under both Kamiya Kasshin style and Hiten Mitsurugi to calm himself.

That was his greatest weakness. Anger for his father's abandonment.

Taking a deep breath once more, he continued. _'I just wish I had the chance to spend more time with him. Get to know him, not only as my father, but as a man as well… Is that too much to ask?' _He asked almost bitterly. He didn't know why, but he just felt like pouring his heart out right now. _'Every time I thought about it, I wonder why his child, namely me, couldn't have kept him from straying away from home again. Was I not one of these "weak" people he had to protect? Was I not important enough to him, the blood of his blood, flesh of his flesh? Was I of so little value to him that he chose to leave instead of spending time with me?'_

He cracked one eye open, expecting lightning to strike from the heavens with the way he was talking to the deceased woman, but thankfully, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

'I apologize for the audacity. I don't know what came over me. I just want to look for answers… and the people who can help me seek them are no longer with us.' He finished praying and was in the middle of standing up when an intense breeze almost knocked him off his feet.

He could feel the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end, and out of pure instinct, his hand crept nearer the hilt of his sword, his stance defensive. "Who's there!" He demanded.

**If it's answers you seek then it's answers you shall find, young Himura…**

He whipped around, looking for the voice. "Who's there?" He demanded once again as he grasped the handle, ready to defend himself. Not only was there a chilly breeze in the middle of summer now, but there was also a fast and thick fog settling in.

**Good luck…**

Before he knew it, the thick fog encircled him, almost choking him from the thickness of the air. Beneath the panic that was settling on his heart at this bizarre occurrence, he grabbed his belongings and decided to make a run for it.

He never made it.

If an outsider would have seen it, with a flash of blinding light, Kenji Himura disappeared from the cemetery in Kyoto.

The night was dark.

Sounds of leaves rustling in the air was the only sound that you can hear aside from an occasional dog howling.

Kenji stirred from his not-so-comfortable position on the ground. 'What the heck happened!' he asked himself as he sat up and checked himself for any injuries. 'Was I attacked? If so, what attacked me?' This was very odd, very odd indeed. The last thing he remembered was feeling the air sucked out of him as he passed out.

He was still in the cemetery! But… it looked different somehow. The gravestone he was praying to hours ago was missing. Did he get robbed and get dumped somewhere else? Yes, that must have been it, he reasoned with himself as he got up and dusted his clothes off.

Mou! He silently cursed to himself with his mother's favorite expression. I guess I'll have to head home tomorrow then… no use trying to rough it out travelling tonight when he could have a warm bed at the Aoiya for him.

Picking up his belongings, which were still with him, he thankfully noticed, he walked out of the cemetery and into the streets of Kyoto. An uncomfortable feeling settled itself in his gut again, but he couldn't quite place it. It wasn't as if he was being watched, because he couldn't feel anybody watching him. There was no ki signature trailing him.

It just felt odd that's all…

Mentally shrugging he brushed it off and continued walking the familiar streets… that didn't look so familiar anymore. What the heck was going on here?

As he turned a corner, he walked right into a sword fight.

His eyes widened at the sight – several men against a lone boy who seemed like he was still in swaddling.

His warrior spirit kicking in, he dropped his things to the ground and joined the fray. Unsheathing his sakabatou, he took down two samurais in one swoop. The third one seemed pretty determined and he was forced to apply a bit more strength into his attack to knock the man out cold.

The man's eyes widened as he struggled to stay awake to no avail. "T-Tomoe…" he whispered as he finally lost consciousness and fell into deep sleep.

Satisfied that he took down the men and helped the little boy out without shedding blood, he turned to the person he had just saved, expecting gratitude. Blue violet eyes met a pair of amber and he found himself face to tip with a bloody katana.

"Who are you!" the boy in the shadows asked as he continued pointing his sword at Kenji's face. Kenji could feel the temper which he inherited from his mother rise. What an ingrate! I just saved his skinny butt and this is the thanks I get? His grip tightening on the hilt of his sakabatou, he answered "I just saved your sorry ass, why don't you stop pointing your little toy at me and thank me instead!"

If it were any possible, the amber eyes narrowed more and came nearer as the owner came out of the shadows and stepped into the moonlight. "I don't recall asking for assistance and I didn't need your help," came the reply that could have bent steel.

For the second time today, Kenji felt his breath knocked out of him as he gazed upon the face of the boy he thought was in trouble tonight. It might look decades younger, but the face was so uncannily like his own that he would have recognized that anywhere. He also noted the red hair. The only thing lacking from the man was his infamous X-shaped scar.

"O-otousan!" he managed to squeak out, bracing a hand on the nearby wall to steady him.

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Remember that fight with Kenshin and Akira in Trust & Betrayal? Several bodyguards against Kenshin the assassin. I embellished it a bit and added more people to justify Kenji stepping in to help Kenshin so bear with me. Hehe 

I thought that by NOT killing Akira, Tomoe wouldn't have the grounds to go after Kenshin, therefore, Kenshin and Tomoe will probably never meet in this fic. laughs maniacally This is NOT for Kenshin/Tomoe fans, I'm warning you.

Do me a favor and hit the "review" button please. )


	3. Questions about Time Travel

**About all the questions regarding time travel:**

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I thought I'd dedicate a whole chapter trying to answer the questions about time travel and paradoxes. I know I disrupted the timeline by having Kenshin NOT kill Akira, which would lead to Tomoe not having to seek Kenshin for revenge and her not dying.

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of Tomoe and would rather write her out of THIS fanfic for the sake of my sanity.:)I had that default chapter before but I deleted it, and well, I feel like I have to answer the questions about what I changed in the timeline and I was going to insert it with Chapter 5, but I wrote too much. lol

Do you guys watch **Stargate SG1**? They've discussed time travel and different dimensions in that episode loads of times… Even Stargate Atlantis touched the subject of time-travel last week.

There are infinite numbers of possibilities in every case, and it is said that outside each reality, there exists a different reality which resulted from exactly the same scenario, but with a different choice made.

I'm not much for explaining that scientific mumbo jumbo stuff, but if you've seen those episodes they'll make sense. lol

For example… with that reasoning, we can safely assume that there could be an alternate universe of Kenshin out there (If they were actually real) wherein Kenshin killed Tomoe that night that she saw Battoussai kill that assassin… or an alternate universe where Kenshin didn't meet Kaoru… get it?

In **Stargate Atlantis**, the Earth expedition find themselves in the city of Atlantis in the bottom of the sea at the beginning of the series. But they arrive just in time for the shield to shut down and water floods the city. Eventually, the emergency system kicks in and the city rises to the ocean floor once more, saving them. But according to last week's episode, that isn't what happened the first time.

The first time it happened, everyone drowned except for the leader of the expedition, because she somehow managed to get into a tunnel jumper that contained a time machine, and traveled back to the time of the Ancients 10,000 years into the past.

By her traveling back to the past and making sure that the shield was still up by the year 2005 and enlisting the help of an Ancient who set the emergency systems on, she saved her alternate 'future' self – the one who is in Stargate Atlantis right now.

If you don't watch Stargate, have you read/seen **Harry Potter**? In the third book/movie (**Prisoner of Azkaban**), Harry and Hermione use Hermione's time turner to go back 2 hours in the past, with Dumbledore's urging. We are only showed THAT timeline, but doesn't it make you wonder whatever happened to the **FIRST** Harry and Hermione?

I'm speculating that they might have died or got their souls sucked out of their bodies, and maybe Dumbledore went back in time to warn himself… that's why we have that scenario where Harry and Hermione go back two hours in time to 'save' themselves.

The FIRST EVER Harry would not have had that OTHER Harry there to save him and conjure the Patronus when the Dementors were feeding off of him and Sirius. We only follow the path of THAT particular Harry where he already had the OTHER Harry save him and Sirius from the Dementors.

It's confusing, and it took me a while to process it, but it made total sense to me that's why the Stargate Atlantis episode made total sense to me as well. LOL

You have to remember that by Kenji traveling to Kenshin's past and inadvertently changing it, he's creating a different type of reality. It branches out from what really happens in the Series, movie and OAVs. Although, I couldn't help but wanting to incorporate some things that happened in the RK series and OAVs into my story, this fic is going to change the timeline.

I was thinking earlier today that perhaps, if Kenji doesn't go back to his own time, they can have a **Back to the Future** storyline when they meet Kaoru… with Kaoru kind of having feelings for Kenji instead of Kenshin so Kenji ends up having to push his parents together… but that's way over my head since I still have my hands full with this one. lol

Speaking of Back to the Future… before Marty goes back to the past for the first time, his father was bullied around. By him traveling to the past, he helped his dad overcome the bully. When he went back to the future, his dad was the one doing the bullying. Bill was cleaning their cars, etc… etc… the second time he travels back, he changes HIS future, by not engaging in that car race which caused an accident.

Remember the alternate reality that he traveled into and the doc explaining on the blackboard? He drew a straight line and then drew another line that branched out from Marty's original timeline.

Another example would be from **Charmed**. The sisters first time-traveled in that Nicholas episode, un-blessing the ring.

The best example from that series is the Phoebe burning at the stake episode. In that episode we see that Phoebe dies at the stake and Piper has a little GIRL. In that future, Prue is still alive and owns Bucklands. The reality of Charmed right now is Prue is dead and Piper has two BOYS.

I'm sure that there's another Charmed reality out there where Piper still has that little girl and Phoebe really did die at the stake, but we are only shown ONE reality at a time.

In this fanfic, because I messed up the original RK timeline by dropping Kenji in the OAV, preventing Kenshin from killing Akira, this fic should be considered an alternate universe/reality.

I still would like to have the familiar faces/events in the RK series, so it's going to cause a lot of confusion.

I've always loved Battoussai/Kaoru fanfics, and Bunny's 'How the Past can change' fanfic (link can be found on my favorite stories list) got me to thinking of how it really can change if Kenji, instead of Kaoru, went back in time instead.

I feel like I've taken on an impossible task. I don't think a lot of people are going to be happy with the way I write this, but please, this is my first ever fanfic, and every time I see the RK Series and then the OAV, I get mad at how Kenshin turned out to be.

I would imagine Kenshin to be a wonderful father, just looking at how he treated Ayame and Suzume, but NOOOOOOOOO, they just had to kill him off and embarrass him by not even making him catch that fish Sano tossed at him. The OAVs broke my heart, that it did.

This fic is my way of trying to fix it. :P

I hope this not so short interlude made sense and helped ease the confusion a bit. :)


	4. Meeting the Battoussai

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

**Mini-Oro-Kenji-Himura: **OMG, my first review-feels so giddy right now and it's not the coke- ROFL Arigatou for the encouragement! (glomps) Sessha didn't like how they killed Kenshin off at all, that sessha did not. I hope you enjoy the third chapter. –grins-

For some reason, I still can't figure out how to do more spaces and lines on I have spaces and lines on my word document, but when I upload the documents, they disappear and I don't know how to fix them. –sweatdrops- I'm so embarrassed. Heh

**Blu Rose: **Heh, I hope you're not very disappointed. :P

**scythe195: ** I'll try:)

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**: CHAPTER 3 :**

To say that he was shocked was an understatement. His knees felt like jelly. If not for the support of the wall, he thought he might have done something undignified like falling to his knees and passing out.

Kenji's eyes were bugging out from their sockets, he was in utter disbelief. Was he dreaming? Did he hit his head on something hard, scrambling his brains out, making him see things? Was he going crazy?

He pinched himself just in case and winced as he felt pain. Nope, he definitely wasn't dreaming. What… where… er… when… how… why… was he here then! Questions were swimming in his mind and he was in total shock in being face to face with his father.

This man, erm, BOY was his father! He turned his violet eyes back to the figure again, his mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. He was in the past! His father was an ex-hitokiri and he's in the middle of an assassination! Holy son of a mou-ing de gozaru yo!

Despite the intense shaking of his hands, he managed to re-sheathe his sword.

"What did you say?" Kenshin Himura asked the peculiar stranger who just jumped into the foray and called him 'father' afterwards. Was he insane? Kenshin peered into the violet eyes that looked so familiar. Normally, he would slay first and ask questions later, but this boy looked somewhat familiar, as if Kenshin **should **know him for some reason. Perhaps if there was more light… Kenshin blinked and shuddered.

He wasn't this boy's father, that was for sure. He was only 15, he scoffed. He was too young to be a father. Heck, he wasn't even _married_ yet! This boy was nuts and Kenshin tightened his hold on his sword in a sense of self-preservation. He's never had to handle lunatics before. He finished his assignment by assassinating his 'assignments' for tonight. The boy did help him, taking down the three bodyguards while he disposed of his main target, so he owed the teenager a couple of minutes to explain himself before he decided what to do with him.

This guy saw him kill, but so did he – the boy killed those three people, didn't he? What was he to do with someone who saw him kill? He was supposed to be a manslayer in the shadows, no one was supposed to know of his existence. His eyes narrowed into slits at the thought of killing this boy… Was he an assassin like him?

"Are you Kenshin Himura?" Kenji boldly asked the red-haired swordsman who seemed deep in thought. Years of spending time with Hiko had fortified his mother's straightforward genes in him.

That statement certainly gathered Kenshin's attention as his amber eyes turned into pure gold. Kenji, who hardly knew his father, much less got to experience the different sides of him - most especially the Battoussai, if his guess was right and he was somewhere in the Bakamatsu - flinched.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Kenshin asked quietly, bellying a veiled threat. His suspicion grew, only Katsurasan and a handful of Ishin Shishi warriors knew him or of his existence.

Kenji didn't know whether to laugh or cry – it was his father, in the flesh… as a teenager! Kami-sama! What the holy heck happened? The last thing he remembered was choking on that weird fog before he passed out and woke up in the wrong era!

And what the holy de gozaru was he supposed to tell the young Kenshin in front of him right now?

'Oyasuminasai Otousan, I'm your son from the future. Fancy meeting you here ne?'

or how about 'I'm Kenji Himura, your son… from the future.'

Crap! No no no!

'I come from… your future, otousan!'

Smooth Kenji, real smooth.

Wait… if he was in the past, does that mean that he's going to be able to affect his father's history? What will happen to him if he accidentally re-writes it? He felt ill as he remembered the pile of unconscious bodies that piled on top of the other just several yards away. Was Kenshin supposed to kill those people tonight? They're not dead… did he already change history unknowingly? Crap!

Kenshin sweat dropped at he watched the teenager in front of him have a glazed look on his face and he looked like he was spacing out. _Weirdo._ He was even whispering to himself.

"Are you going to answer me or are you going to talk to yourself all night?" Kenshin mocked.

"Oro?" Kenji exclaimed and mentally kicked himself. He can NOT believe that he's stuck in the past using the one thing – well, aside from the sakabatou and his looks – that his father passed on to him. The use of the "oro" word.

"What's your name?" Kenshin asked him again.

Kenji swallowed. "Kenji," he answered, very reluctant to say his last name. Should he tell him? What if he slays him on the spot, thinking he was some kind of assassin sent to get him? He frowned, trying to recall the events that were supposed to happen to his father during this time.

He heard lots of stories from his mother, and then later on from Master Hiko.

The young samurai sighed. What was that saying about honesty being the best policy? He waved his hands in front of him in a pacifying manner. "Before you start slicing and dicing Himura-san, please hear me out. As odd as this may sound, I'm a…" _relative_, he wanted to say but ended up saying "friend" instead. He swallowed, not really thinking it was a good idea to tell his father that he was from the future. I mean, who would believe him right? He couldn't even begin to fathom how he ended up here as well so how should he be able to explain something he himself didn't understand?

Kenshin looked at him skeptically.

"I'm here to help you." Kenji tried again.

Now Kenshin had an annoyed look on his face. "I don't need your help." He paused. "Did Katsura-san send you after me?"

Thanking his mother for the history lessons Kenji replied. "No, um I was hoping you would take me to him and I can ask him if I could join your faction." _I hope that doesn't mean I just signed up to be a manslayer_, he added silently to himself.

"Are you a spy? A rival assassin sent to get rid of me?" Kenshin hissed and fell into an attack stance. _I knew it! _Kenshin said to himself. _You really can't trust people these days, no matter what your first impression of them is._

Kenji's eyes became as large as saucers. If worse comes to worst, he could at least defend himself, but this was getting absurd! "No, no! You got that all wrong! I'm not here to assassinate anyone! I'm on your side!" His voice cracked as Kenshin disappeared from his view and attacked him.

Katana clashed against sakabatou as the older son protected himself from his younger father's onslaught.

Despite the circumstances, Kenshin couldn't help but feel almost impressed at how the stranger was holding up against him. He wasn't aiming to kill the guy, just meaning to scare him a bit to make him tell the truth, but even though he _looked _scared, Kenshin could feel that he was holding back somehow.

Stuck in the past with his father trying to kill him. It was like some kind of bad kabuki play if he ever saw one. Kenji wasn't panicking, no, he told himself he wasn't even as he ducked and raised his sword to defend himself against another strike. "Hiko-sama sent me!" He blurted the sentence out, hoping that mentioning their mentor's name would make the hitokiri trust him enough or at least stop attacking.

Well that did the trick. The red-haired hitokiri stopped in mid-attack.

Kenshin face faulted at the mention of his shishou's name. _'How did this boy know about shishou?' _

"Explain yourself."

Boy, did he know how to dig a hole deep or what!


	5. Talk & explanations

**I own Rurouni Kenshin and my very own country. **

**Shyeah right!**

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**Mini-Oro-Kenji-Himura: **aw! You inspire me so much! Lol, I don't think my story sucks as much whenever I read your reviews. –grins wide-

**Marlingrl: **Thanks for the advice! I have no beta reader. –scratches head- And um, it's my first fic so I'm trying to keep it away from my friends for now, I'm too embarrassed to let anyone I know personally read it. Heh I guess I should read my own fanfic huh? Oro-bows in apology- I'll try to be my own beta reader, thanks again-grin-

**lolo popoki: **Quite honestly, I really don't know where I'm going with this story, rofl. I was hoping Kenji can help Kenshin soften his heart. Erm, no yaoi or anything along those lines though. –grin- Just some good ole father-son bonding.

**De Lazy Lime: ** -scratches head some more- I'm sorry. Heh I started the fic last night and I was in a hurry to finish the chapter off before I lost confidence in myself and decided to scrap it again like the other fics I started and scrapped, so I didn't even read it. Er… still haven't read it. :D I'm a big fan of Kaoru going to the past to meet the Battoussai and thought to let Kenji have the spotlight this time. And I removed the default chapter, that I did. :P

**Kamui Gaia 07 **&** Hitokiri Yumemi: **Thanks!

**girl from ipanema: ** Yes I do. Kenshin needs to have someone else 'save' him from his dark manslayer past. The Jinchuu Arc isn't one of my favorites, I think that Kenshin and Kaoru should have been able to marry differently, was actually expecting it to happen in the End of Wanderings episode but shrug That's why it's a fan FICTION. –wink-

Thank you **Alex92**!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Some of them were pretty intimidating but I'll uhm, try my best to continue. Hehe I realize that by not killing Akira, Tomoe won't have to go after Kenshin and Kenshin will have no sheathe, but I'm going to leave it up to Kenji to help Kenshin through. I'm sure he'll realize that some time.

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**Previously on Boy Meets Dad…**

"Hiko-sama sent me!" He blurted the sentence out, hoping that mentioning their mentor's name would make the hitokiri trust him enough or at least stop attacking.

Kenshin face faulted at the mention of his shishou's name. _'How did this boy know about shishou?'_

"Explain yourself."

Boy, did he know how to dig a hole deep or what!

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**- CHAPTER 4 -**

Kenji re-sheathed his sword again, this time, doing it like it was the most fascinating thing to do, trying to buy himself some time. "Well, I don't know where to begin." he said, which was a hundred percent true. He really didn't.

"How do you know shishou?" Kenshin asked, lowering his sword a bit.

"I'm related to him in a way, I guess." Kenji replied. It wasn't as if he was lying, because in a way, he really **was **related to Master Hiko. After justifying it with his conscience, he felt more confident in the half-truth that he assumed for himself and his resolve strengthened.

"Um, do you mind if we continue this conversation elsewhere?" He motioned to the people laying on the ground near them. "Somewhere we can talk in private perhaps?" He walked over to where he dropped his belongings before he came to his father's 'rescue' and picked them up.

He could tell that the Battoussai was still wary of him but the younger man put his sword away and nodded.

"Himura!" Called a voice suddenly. Both Kenji and Kenshin turned to look at a figure approaching them. "Are you done with your job for tonight? Well that was quick huh?"

The guy stopped short when he noticed that the Battoussai wasn't alone. "Friend of yours?"

"No," Kenshin replied curtly.

Iizuka couldn't read the young man's expression. Talking to Himura was like talking to a brick wall. He was lucky if he got whole sentences aside from the customary one-word replies or grunts from the guy. He sighed. "Are you going back yet?" He threw an inquiring look at the Battoussai's companion, as if waiting for some sort of introduction.

Kenshin didn't satisfy his curiosity. "I'll see you back at headquarters," he turned around without adding more, and Kenji assumed that he was expected to follow so he trailed behind the Battoussai quietly after giving the man, whom he assumed was some sort of ally, a small sheepish smile.

The streets of Kyoto he was walking on right now looked the same yet so very different from the one that he was accustomed to, back in the Meiji Era. Or maybe it was just because of the fact that they were travelling in the shadows like hunted men that was making Kyoto look so different… either way, his mind was working overtime as he weighed the ramifications of his current situation.

Number one, Kenji thought to himself, it seems like he traveled back in time, to the years of the Bakamatsu.

His father was still Battoussai the manslayer, the infamous hitokiri.

Judging from how he looked, Kenji surmised that he hasn't met Tomoe yet. He had no scars on his face. That was a dilemma. Will he be able to stomach seeing his father with his first wife, considering how he felt about her? How was this going to affect his father in the future? If he doesn't meet his first wife, doesn't kill her… does that mean that there's not going to be a rurouni Kenshin?

Number two, he interfered with one of the Battoussai's assassination assignments tonight. Those three men were still alive, no doubt about that. He struck just to immobilize, never to kill. How was that going to affect history?

Number three, Why was he here? Was he sent back in time to change history? He frowned. Was he even allowed to do that? Judging from what he did tonight, he didn't think he can do more damage than he already has. And, he reasoned, if he wasn't allowed to change anything, shouldn't he have NOT been able to go back to the past in the first place?

And what about going back to the future? CAN he go back? **When** will he go back to his own time? Not that he had any living relatives back at home in his own time, but he had friends and almost-adopted family that would be worried about his disappearance. How long was he going to stay here? Days? Months? Years? Was he stuck here?

If he was supposed to stay here, he can't remain a pacifist. Both of the sword styles that he mastered were about protecting the people, protecting the weak. Kenji Himura wasn't going to sit on the sidelines while the weak were being oppressed. And besides, if he joined the Cho Su faction, it will give him the chance he wanted to get to know his father better.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that it took him several moments to realize that they had stopped walking. The Battoussai was looking at him expectantly. "Talking to yourself again?"

Kenji laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment. "Bad habit I got from my mother."

"Start talking."

_Alright, didn't know he was so impatient when he was so young, but then so was I, I guess…_ Kenji realized he was 'talking to himself' again so he cleared his throat and threw caution to the wind.

"Alright, where should I begin?"

"Who are you. Why are you here. How do you know Shishou… what do you know about me?"

Kenji blinked. He didn't really expect an answer to his rhetorical question. "Well, I'm Kenji Hi - Kamiya," Crap! He almost slipped and introduced himself as a 'Himura'. Adapting the same last name as the Battoussai wasn't going to get him on his young father's good side, that was for sure. The first name that popped into his mind was his mother's however, and it was too late to take it back even if he wanted to. "I'm here to offer my assistance," he continued, more secure in his half-truths this time.

His father was a stranger to him, and the thought of being friends with the stranger who fathered him was more than a dream come true. He still harbored some resentment, but somewhere in the back of his mind was a little voice telling him that **this** Kenshin Himura hadn't done anything that the future Kenshin Himura had done yet. He hasn't abandoned Kenji or Kaoru yet, he hasn't gone off all over Japan and even to Shanghai to 'save the world' at the expense of his family. Maybe he can finally have that relationship he wanted so much with his father, Kenji thought almost gleefully.

"I am trained in the Kamiya Kasshin style of fighting. What I know about you, I learned from Hiko-sama," _mother, Yahiko, Miss Tae, Miss Tsubame, Doctor Genzai, Megumi, Ayame, Suzume, Aoshi, Miss Misao, Chou the broomhead and heck, even that old wolf Saitou_, he silently added to himself. "Seijuro Hiko and my parents are… close family friends, almost like family." _Like you wouldn't believe **how** close_, he mentally added. "I ran away from home several years ago and stayed with him. He told me stories about you, his first apprentice. When my parents passed away, I went back to visit Hiko-sama again. I was on my way home today and went to visit someone before I ran into you earlier tonight."

Kenji was proud of himself. He didn't lie at all, he just withheld information; Information that the Battoussai didn't need to know anyway.

The young Kenshin still looked skeptical and boy, Kenji thought, he was a very suspicious fellow. He offered his condolences regarding Kenji's parents, but also spent the next thirty minutes or so asking Kenji pointed questions about his background. Kenji answered each question as truthfully as he could, leaving out pertinent details such as what year he was from.

He discovered that he was actually 2 years older than his father right now, which felt really weird. If he was older did that mean that the younger man was supposed to show him respect? Heh.

Kenshin didn't believe the teenager at first. His gut feeling was telling him that the teen was telling the truth, but part of him was still suspicious… like there was something the guy wasn't telling him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. For the first time since he left his master, he found himself talking more than normal. This past year had been making him feel like he was slowly dying from inside out every time he took someone's life away, no matter how just his cause was, so he kept to himself and talked only when necessary. The only person he was forced to say more than one-word replies to was Katsura-san. Tonight however, he found himself almost bombarding the strange teenager questions, trying to judge his character. Somehow, he felt like he had found a kindred spirit.

After a while, the interrogation turned into friendly chatter, yet the younger man's face remained impassive as his right hand clenched and unclenched. "How is shishou?" He asked in a tight voice. He was wondering what his master thought of him now, the baka deshi.

"He's doing alright," Kenji said thoughtfully. He didn't have any idea of what Hiko-sama was doing on this day and age, but he seemed pretty alright when he left this morning, in his own time. "He worries about you." He wanted to say more, but he didn't want to tread on any wounds the separation might have caused.

A corner of the Battoussai's mouth quirked upward, almost as if he found the statement amusing, and specs of violet danced in his amber eyes, reminding Kenji of his rurouni father. It was almost a smile but not quite. He was surprised that the Battoussai hadn't noticed the similarities in their appearance yet. Although Kenji had a shade darker of violet eyes than his father had, and red hair also a shade darker, he looked uncannily like Kenshin. Maybe he's not one for mirrors, Kenji thought wryly.

He felt like he was given the benefit of the doubt thanks to his intimate knowledge of Hiko-sama and the Battoussai finally relented about taking him to their headquarters.

Never in his wildest dreams had he been able to imagine being able to have the chance to offer his sword to the cause of the Ishin Shishi warriors.

It also felt surreal, talking to his father like this. Surreal yet very welcome indeed. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever made this possible as he followed the young hitokiri back to the inn.

Back at home in his own time, whenever his father was alone, he barely shared a word or two with him because he was usually busy shutting the shoji doors at his father's face because of resentment or getting annoyed at the preaching of the old man.

A feral smile made its way to the young Himura's mouth and he grinned even wide, inwardly to himself. If he was going to be stuck here he might as well make good use of the situation ne?


	6. The Ishin Shishi

**I wish I owned Kenshin.**

**Lolo popoki:** Oro… Kenji doesn't have dark hair? looks at various pics she has of Kenji Am I color-blind? bites bottom lip I have this picture of him and he looks like he has dark red hair. Crap! Gomen nasai! I'll… uh, try to fix it if I could. nods I think his red hair is darker than Kenshin's. peers at the PC That's why I keep describing it as "dark". ROFL Sorry!

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**- CHAPTER 5 -**

If anybody thought that Kenji's integration into the Cho Su clan was going to be smooth, they were dead wrong.

The guy he met earlier, Iizuka, was probably the only one who didn't draw his sword or attempt to draw his sword when the Battoussai walked into the Kohagi Inn with Kenji in tow.

"We have an intruder!" came the warning shout and one Ishin Shishi samurai after another piled into the room, ready to defend their headquarters.

"He's with me," explained the red-haired samurai, but that didn't pacify his fellow Ishin Shishi warriors either. Gasps of outrage at Kenshin bringing an outsider into their fold were buzzing around the small room where they were now gathered, almost squished together as more samurai arrived.

One warrior even went to the extent of shouting "Have you lost your mind, Battoussai?" before a single piercing look from the young hitokiri silenced him.

Not that Kenji could blame them, because this was a time of war and you had to be careful of whom to give your trust to afterall, but the reality that he was **going to war **left a sour taste in his mouth.

"We need to see Katsura-san," Kenshin said, his second sentence of the night surprising some of his comrades, since they've never heard him speak this much before. Again though, it was met with another chorus of protests.

"You can't be serious!"

"Why should we trust him? Who is he?"

"Why does he need to see Katsura-san?"

"He's an assassin sent by the Shogunate!"

"Come on men, look at him," said Iizuka who was still trying to calm some of the more enthusiastic samurai down. "He looks so much like the Battoussai, they could be brothers!"

Kenji stood still as a rock, trying to keep the emotions out of his face from that statement. He didn't know how the Battoussai was going to react once he FINALLY noticed the uncanny resemblance between them.

He stole a quick glance at his father who was looking at him like he was actually **seeing **him for the first time as well. _I can't believe he never noticed how we looked so much alike, _Kenji thought as he sweat-dropped, a little irritated at Kenshin's clueless-ness. _How thick can you get?_

……

Several minutes later, Kenji found himself seated in front of the famous, or infamous, depending on which side you were rooting for, Kogoro Katsura. He avoided eye contact with the red-head as much as possible and tried to concentrate on his conversation with Katsura-san instead, ignoring the questions lurking in his young father's eyes.

Kenshin stared hard at the visibly calm Kenji. He admitted to himself that he didn't notice the resemblance between him and the guy earlier, blaming the dimly-lit streets and his curiosity about this stranger who appeared from nowhere, jumped into the middle of his assignment and offered his help afterwards and then sending him off-guard by talking about Hiko-sama like he did.

No one is supposed to ever see a hitokiri kill and he didn't know what to do with the teenager who looked so much like him, only with darker coloring. Iizuka was right as well, they **could **be mistaken for brothers if they were seen together. Kenji even had red hair, but it was darker than his…

He tried to recall what it was like before he was picked up by his shishou… he couldn't recall a lot of memories about his parents except for the fact that they were kind and they died of cholera before a band of slave traders picked him up. As far as he knew, he didn't have any living relatives left, he was an orphan. But this Kenji… he was older than Kenshin… and they looked **SO** much alike. _Could it be possible that Kenji was some sort of long-lost brother? _Was that why he felt some kind of camaraderie toward the boy, one which he usually didn't feel for anyone upon their first meeting?

He frowned, recalling Kenji's story about his parents dying_. He had parents, so he guessed that meant they weren't related…_

The young hitokiri tried to brush off the strange coincidence as exactly that – just a coincidence – and tried to pay attention to the conversation at hand.

"So you're really not related to Himura-san?" Katsura was asking Kenji for the umpteenth time. From the moment he met the look-alike, he was more concerned about asking Kenji about his relation to Kenshin rather than finding out if he was trust-worthy or not. Katsura-san seemed to trust Kenji immediately just because of how he looked.

The younger man just shrugged and smiled respectfully at the leader of the rebellion. Kenji thought that by neither denying nor confirming it, he wasn't really **lying** to them.

_What they don't know won't hurt them_ became his mantra.

The second re-telling of his partial life story was easier than the first. None of the men could find a hint of any kind of lie with Kenji's story and Katsura-san seemed extremely pacified with the fact that Kenji was acquainted with Kenshin's master.

The issue of Kenji signing up for the Cho Su clan's cause was also brought up and the topic became serious. Katsura was kind enough to offer Kenji a room at the inn and told him that his skill was going to be tested in the morning.

Bile started rising from Kenji's stomach to his mouth again, with the thought of having to kill anybody. So far, none of them managed to notice that he was carrying a reverse-blade sword. Were they going to laugh at him? Kick him out and deem him useless?

"Gomen nasai, Katsura-san," he interrupted politely, "But I think I should warn you right now that even if I offer you my sword, it is not a sword that kills," he picked his sakabatou up beside him and unsheathed it, presenting it to the other two occupants of the room.

"What's this? The blade is on the wrong side!" Exclaimed Katsura who was inspecting the sword. The Battoussai had a thoughtful frown on his face.

"It's a reverse-blade sword, my father's legacy if you will." Kenji explained, looking at Kenshin.

"How do you expect to fight a war using that piece of scrap?" The Battoussai said, scowling.

"I may not play an important role like you, Kenshin, but at least I can offer my assistance, how little it may be." _Calling the sakabatou a piece of scrap indeed, it was YOURS, baka!_ "Perhaps I can be one of your personal bodyguards, Katsura-san."

The Battoussai frowned once more. Kenji was acting so familiar with him, calling him 'Kenshin' when even Katsura-san calls him 'Himura'. "How do you expect to protect Katsura-san if your skills are lacking?"

Kenji felt himself getting irritated. _I'll show you who's lacking in skills!_ He had to restrain himself from Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki-ying his young father across the room. He had to bite his tongue from spitting out that in this day and age, he had more training than Kenshin had! "My skills are not lacking," he bit out.

"Could've fooled me, what kind of person carries a reverse-blade sword in the Bakamatsu?"

"It is against the teachings of my sword style to kill people. My mentors taught me that a sword is used to protect."

Kenshin scoffed. "A sword is an instrument of violence. The art of swordsmanship is learning how to kill."

"My sword is used to protect, not kill."

"It's either kill or **be **killed. There's no other way."

"The Kamiya Kasshin Style is to invigorate the body."

"The Shinsengumi wouldn't care if you 'invigorate' them or not, they'll kill you on the spot if you stand in their way or oppose the Shogun."

"The Kasshin style is all about protecting people. Doesn't the same go for your sword style as well?"

"How can you protect people if you are dead."

"Who says I'm going to die?"

"Carrying that piece of scrap you call a sword, you'll be dead in a week."

"I beg to differ."

"You spout ideals that belong to someone who has no experience in slaying people."

"Didn't you hear me when I said that I had no wish to **kill **people? Only to protect them?"

"You are naïve."

Kenji growled and engaged his father in a staring contest. Here he was talking to his father about **protecting **people and his father was trying to **discourage** him! Himura the Battoussai was certainly different from the rurouni Kenshin.

As Kenji and Kenshin glared at each other, Katsura watched on in amazement. He too promised his friend that he will no longer raise his sword to kill and was actually impressed with Kamiya-san's strength in his beliefs. But what was more fascinating was the fact that Himura the Battoussai was arguing with Kamiya. The ever-stoic hitokiri actually looked irritated with the kid's enthusiasm about what he believed in. It was a sight he has never seen before – the Battoussai showing some kind of emotion. While most of the Ishin Shishi seasoned warriors treaded cautiously around Kenshin Himura, this kid who looked uncannily like him, dared to argue with him!

Katsura cleared his throat, interrupting the battle of wills between the two.

"I respect your beliefs, Kamiya-san. I shall not force you to kill if you truly do not want to. At this moment, we are in need of more bodyguards to guard the key members of the Ishin Shishi from the likes of the Shinsengumi. I accept your offer."

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Hehehe! Gomen, I couldn't help myself from inserting lines from the RK series! hides from the lawyers Don't sue me please! 


	7. Kenji's First Assignment

**If I owned Kenshin, I would have made him catch that fish Sano tossed at him.**

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**Symbolica Desire: **LOL! I'll try to update at least once a day if I can, that I will. :)

**Da Lazy Lime: **Heh! I SWEAR! I thought Kenji had Kaoru's coloring. Even from the OAV, his hair looks dark. bows head in shame

**AuburnMoonlight: **lol! Me likey you likey! ROFL

**Lolo popoki: **Thanks:P

**scythe195: **Thank you:)

A/N: Can anybody tell me who Katsura's friend was? The one who died of tuberculosis I think? In Trust & Betrayal… because he was coughing up blood? I forgot his name. :( Okubo, Katsura and…? Help!

And don't forget to watch RK tonight, CN 10:30pm EST & Pacific, 9:30pm Central! I think they're starting with the Raijuta Saga. :)

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**CHAPTER 6 –**

Kenji tried to remain alert as the meeting between three clans progressed. He didn't particularly care for politics so he wasn't even listening to the current discussion. His mind kept wandering off somewhere, thinking about how his life was turning out.

It's only been three days since he first came here. Ever since then, his young father had stuck like glue to his side, hovering near him everywhere he went inside the inn. They never really got to sit down, spend some time together, talk and get to know each other better, but the only times when he didn't feel his father's watchful eyes on him were when, he guessed, the young hitokiri had business to attend to.

Other than that, the boy shadowed Kenji as if he was waiting for the right time to attack or something. He could tell that Kenshin was still very suspicious of him for some reason.

He dared not venture out of his sanctuary at the inn just yet, lest he be tempted to go to the Aoiya to check it out and disrupt history more than he already had.

Kenji shuddered, still freaked out about everything that's happened. Each time he woke up in the morning, he expected to be at home back in the Kamiya Dojo, with someone like Miss Tsubame telling him that he had a raging fever for days and that he had just imagined traveling back in time.

Three days and he was still here. He was starting to accept his fate.

Things didn't seem that bad, actually. In this era, both of his parents were still technically alive, even if he was older than the both of them. His rough calculation was that his mother was about 4 or 5 years old right now. He wondered if he could go visit Tokyo and maybe even catch a glimpse of his young mom someday, if he really was stuck here.

Also, he knew that somehow, he needed to find some way to have his parents meet or he'll never be born. That scared the daylights out of him, the first time he thought about that. His brain was trying to justify, explain and solve the mystery that was Kenji Himura stuck in the Bakamatsu and the ramifications of it. It was too much for his poor brain to comprehend so he gave up trying to explain it and just decided to go with the flow. _Come what may…_

So here he was tonight, with his first assignment as a bodyguard. He was seated at one corner of the room with his left leg raised, chin resting on his chest and his sword propped up on his right shoulder. He looked like he was asleep. If anyone thought that he was copying the Battoussai's favorite position, nobody commented on it.

As the representatives of the clans continued arguing, Kenji's well-trained senses picked up a familiar ki. He raised his head and tightened his grip on his sword. _Oh ho! This is **not **happening. Tell me this isn't happening! _No matter how much he may have wanted to deny it or will it to go away, the familiar ki signature didn't go away. In fact it came nearer. _Great!_

He hissed. "Turn of the lights! Put out the candles. Right now!"

He got annoyed looks from the occupants of the room, particularly from the representatives of the other clans, but one of the men he was guarding got the hint and started putting the lights out.

"The Shinsengumi are approaching."

That single statement caused near-hysteria as men scrambled to get up, raising their swords to defend their lives.

"Sir Yusuke," Kenji addressed one of the men he was guarding, "please stay at my sight at all times."

The man nodded gratefully and Kenji opened the shoji door. Upon making sure nobody was there, he motioned for the people inside the room to make their escape. He wanted to save as many lives as possible, but his first priority was his own people.

They stayed right behind him together with the other bodyguards as he made his way down the stairs.

They were met by several Shinsengumi warriors and he quickly disposed of them, not showing any of his fancy moves. Within what seemed like a blink of the eye, he cleared the way and they were almost free.

He was praying for good luck and that he wouldn't have to come face to face with the old coot, but luck wasn't on his side.

"Going somewhere?" Came that familiar sarcastic voice.

_What were the chances of meeting the old wolf on my first assignment?_ Kenji couldn't decide if he was cursed with bad luck or gifted with good luck.

"We were just going for a stroll, that we were." Kenji replied. "Would you please step aside so we can pass?" He asked politely.

"I don't think I can grant that request boy. Aku. Soku. Zan. That is the essence of the Shinsengumi. Any and all who oppose the Shogun must die." Saitoh said as he drew his sword.

Kenji sighed. He really didn't want to engage the guy in a sword fight. "I don't have any quarrels with you. If you let my comrades go I promise that no one will get hurt."

Saitou chuckled sarcastically at the boy's insolence. "You just disposed of my entire squad and you dare say no one will get hurt?"

"But they're not dead!"

"Enough talk!" He shouted and attacked.

Kenji parried the blow with his sword, then jumped away from Saitoh. "Sir Yusuke go! I'll catch up with you later! I'll keep him busy." He called out to his companions and they nodded gratefully to him, running off into the night.

"Don't want anyone to witness your death, eh? That's fine with me, I can catch up to them when I finish disposing of you."

_Wow, I didn't know Saitoh was always **this** conceited. _

The young bodyguard really didn't want to fight with the wolf. He had an enormous amount of respect for the man back at his own time and fighting the guy was on the top of his "not-to-do" list.

Despite that however, he found himself trading blows with the Shinsengumi warrior. So far, none of them managed to land a single blow at each other. Kenji used his speed that would rival or even surpass that of his father's, to avoid attacks while not even retaliating in return.

This irked the leader of the Third Squad of the Shinsengumi. He felt like the kid was toying with him for some reason, but the odd thing was that the kid wasn't taunting him at all. It was almost as if the kid really didn't want to 'hurt' him. His narrow eyes narrowed some more at the thought of an enemy showing him mercy. His pride will never allow it!

"Your stupidity shall cost you your life tonight." Saitoh raised his left arm with his sword pointing forward, while his right hand touched the front of the blade, stabilizing it.

Kenji's eyes were the size of saucers at the meaning of this. _Gatotsu! _His mind screamed and calculated on how to protect himself. Silently cursing because he had no more options left at such short notice, short of running away, he began his attack just as Saitou did.

Just as Saitoh was charging with immense speed, Kenji jumped high into the air. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!"

Saitoh's eyes widened. _How could he have dodged my Gatotsu! _Terribly irritated, his mind worked quickly and switched to Gatotsu stance three, lunging his sword upward to protect himself and injure the boy who was above him at the same time.

_Perfect! _Kenji anticipated Saitoh using the third stance against his Ryu Tsui Sen, counted heavily on it in fact, and gave himself a pat on the back as he lunged toward the wolf, twisting his body just in time to dodge the attack, and did a sideways slash. "Ryu Kan Sen!"

He met Saitoh's extremely surprised look with an apologetic one and finished the fight with a really quick blow to the head which would have done his mother proud, knocking the man unconscious.

Breathing heavily as he landed, young Kenji placed his sword back in its scabbard and ran to the wolf's side. _Boy is he going to have one major headache when he wakes up or what! Sorry Saitoh, but it was for your own good._ Content that he didn't do any permanent damage to the wolf, he turned around, exiting the house and headed towards headquarters.

……

Okita took a sharp intake of breath as he surveyed the scene in front of him. He saw a familiar crumpled form several feet away and rushed towards it.

"Saitoh!" Tears threatened to fall from his eyes, he couldn't believe the man he respected so much, his mentor, was dead! He blamed himself, and this useless body of his. He was sicker than normal tonight, so Saitoh insisted on going on this assignment alone. Okita should have known better. Now he was going to have to live with the guilt that he could have helped but didn't.

The whole third squad… was gone!

Saitoh groaned as someone poked at him.

Okita almost jumped ten feet into the air when he heard Saitoh groan. "Saitoh?" His voice was unsure. The Shinsengumi men laying on the ground were starting to stir as well. Okita blinked. _So they weren't dead? But… how?_

"What happened?" Saitoh said as he opened his eyes and groaned some more. He felt like someone bashed him with a steel-plated mallet on the head.

"You're alive!" Okita exclaimed, a bit baffled. "What happened? Why are all of you unconscious?"

"The red-haired guy! Did you see him?" Exclaimed one of the men.

"That guy wasn't human! He was so fast, I was knocked unconscious before I could draw my sword!"

Grunts of agreement were heard across the room, everyone wondering how in the fires of Hades they were still alive.

_We're not dead,_ Saitoh mused. None of them were. Sure he had a headache the size of China and a bump on the head the size of a miso soup bowl, but he wasn't dead. He didn't even have a single life-threatening scratch either. The kid managed to take them out without killing any of them. And he was the first person to ever dodge Gatotsu! It was unreal and very disturbing.

_If the Ishin Shishi had a samurai like that in their ranks, I would've thought they would make him a man-slayer, not a mere bodyguard. _

He stood up and filled Okita in on what happened. The mystery swordsman plaguing his mind all the way back to the Shinsengumi headquarters and more. _He could have killed me easily if he was as skilled as he was but he didn't. Why? _

……

Upon reaching the inn, Kenji checked in to make sure his comrades made it there safely. Satisfied that he managed to prevent bloodshed tonight, he crept to his room to avoid the countless questions that they were bombarding him with. _I think I was just raised to hero status overnight,_ he thought to himself. The awed looks the men were throwing his way made him feel uncomfortable.

Shutting the door to his room, he was startled by a voice.

"So I heard you took out an entire squad of the Shinsengumi all by yourself and even their leader."

Kenji looked at the face that looked so much like his own and smiled. "I got lucky I guess."

Father and son engaged in another staring contest they seemed to have developed a liking for.

_This is getting old, _Kenji sighed. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Kenshin regarded him for a minute and shook his head. "I'll be watching you, Kamiya. I have a feeling you're not telling me something. And I **will **find out about it." He paused as Kenji sucked in his breath. "Make one wrong move and you'll regret it."

With that threat hanging in the air, the Battoussai opened the door and showed himself out, quietly closing it behind him.

Kenji was left alone, contemplating on his outrage.


	8. The Aoiya & Saitoh

**(sprays anti-law suit spray on herself)**

**lolo popoki: **I update fast because I'm stuck at home with a cold and I'm bored out of my mind. Lol Thank you thank you THANK YOU for the name! It's been bothering me for a long time but no one I knew could provide me the name. Thanks:)

**Lily of the Shadow: **I'll try my best not to abandon this fic, I heart Kenji. :)

A/N: Heh, another thing I thought about… Remember Future Trunks from **Dragonball Z** during the Cell Saga? He came from an alternate future, remember:)

Hm, did anyone else notice that CN cut out Kaoru saying "Kenshin, you jerk!" when they were in the hot spring talking about the Shinko Style? Bad CN -so not amused-

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**- CHAPTER 7 –**

_What did I ever do to him?_ Kenji silently cursed at his father as he swung his sword above his head.

Yahiko found pleasure in giving Kenji instructions to practice his swings hundreds of times in the past, probably payback from when Kaoru made him practice his swings when they were younger or every time he had annoyed the 'busu' when he was the student. Little did Yahiko know that Kenji actually enjoyed practicing his swings. It helped him calm his temper, soothe his soul.

After that encounter last night, the temper he had inherited from his mother was at full power. _Who did he think he was! He really is a baka! Kenshin no baka! Threatening me like that. I'll Ryu his Sho Sen if he threatens me again! _He continued to fume silently as he practiced.

_I don't know what my mother ever saw in him! Or his first wife Tomoe. _Kenji frowned, thinking about Tomoe. _Shouldn't she be here somewhere by now? _Since he didn't exactly know when and where his father met his first wife, he shrugged it off and wiped the sweat from his brow.

He was so incensed right now, practicing swings couldn't even calm his temper down. He allowed himself to imagine shoulder-dodge-to-nut-kicking his father and felt immensely better.

Since practicing swings didn't help, he decided to take a quick visit to Kyoto for the day. With that decision, he went back to his room, changed his clothes and headed towards town.

He never noticed the small silhouette trailing him from a safe distance.

**……**

Since he had no particular destination in mind, Kenji was surprised when he found himself in front of the Aoiya. _Habit, I guess. I didn't mean to end up here, but still… it wouldn't hurt to go in and order something to eat, ne? _

Stepping into the warm, inviting atmosphere of the restaurant/inn, his eyes softened at the familiar surroundings. _This place hasn't changed much._

_As long as I avoid lots of contact with the Oniwabanshu, everything should be alright. _Talking to himself had become a constant in his life lately, since he had no one to talk to. The fact that he was also treading cautiously around his psycho otousan was another factor.

Seating himself in a corner, he ordered some food discreetly and wondered if Misao or Aoshi were here.

As if on cue, a cute little pig-tailed girl in shorts came bursting out of the kitchen door, followed by a tall, lanky teenager. "Misao!"

The toddler gurgled and bounced across the aisle, dodging tables and chairs as the teenager tried hard to catch her. He was failing terribly and the toddler looked like she was enjoying the game very much. "Aowi!" She giggled and continued her great escape.

When the little toddler reached the corner of the room where Kenji sat, she stopped short and looked at the teenager in awe, her pretty eyes widening. "Pwetty!" She squealed in delight and tried to climb up Kenji's lap, reaching for his red locks.

Very disconcerted at seeing Aoshi-sama as a teenager who didn't look any older than a 13-year old boy, and Miss Misao as a toddler, the young Himura could only stay still as a statue as he let the toddler climb all over him and play with his hair.

"Misao, stop bothering that nice young man, it's time for your bath."

_Wow, even as a teenager, Lord Aoshi still looks like a block of ice._ His ice blue eyes were unreadable, although Kenji could've sworn he detected a hint of great affection for the toddler he had climbing all over him in those eyes.

As Aoshi grabbed for Misao again and made to take her away from bothering Kenji's meal, the little girl screamed in protest and grabbed for another fistful of the young swordsman's hair. He winced in pain, feeling like he was going to have a bald spot from where the young Misao was grabbing him.

"I'm so sorry about this, sir!" The young Aoshi apologized profusely and continued to try and disentangle the customer from his young charge. Misao was wailing like a banshee, gaining the attention of everybody at the Aoiya.

"No bath! Me wanna play with Red! No! No! No!"

Never a fan of captive audiences, Kenji hastily stood up cradling the little hellion in his arms. "Tell you what Misao. If you go take your bath, Red will play with you, okay?" He told the hyperactive toddler.

She seemed to consider this a bit but it took just a bit more cajoling before the loud baby finally relented and allowed herself to be taken from her "Red" and went to take her bath. A young Omasu came to fetch her and the toddler finally let go of Kenji's locks.

Kenji rubbed the raw part of his scalp. _Miss Misao had a tight grip, even as a child!_

Chuckling, the customers returned to whatever they were doing and it was business as usual in the Aoiya even though Okina himself had come forward and was also apologizing together with the young Lord Aoshi. Kenji had to bite back a smile from the absurdity of the situation. All he wanted was a bowl of hot soba and maybe some saké.

"Gomen! Gomen nasai, sir!" said Okina as he dipped his head over and over again in apology.

Kenji raised his hands in a pacifying manner, "That's okay, no harm done." He smiled reassuringly.

"Oh my, I forgot my manners. My name is Okina dear sir, and this is Aoshi." Okina motioned to the teenager beside him.

"My name is Kenji, pleasure to meet you." He bowed in respect.

"If you leave now, I can take care of Misao later," the young Aoshi told Kenji, his eyes as cold as ever.

Kenji shook his head. "That's okay, I did promise to play with her, and I've never backed down from a promise before."

The young Aoshi just regarded him quietly, staring at him like he was staring right at Kenji's soul. Okina puffed his chest out and clapped his hands together. "Then whatever you want sir, it's on the house." He nodded. "Repayment for my granddaughter almost causing you to go bald."

Only Okina and Kenji laughed at the statement.

**……**

Kenji rubbed his temples as he blithely navigated his way through the crowded streets of Kyoto. True to his promise, he did play with the young Misao after she had her bath, and Kenji almost felt like he was back at home, only faced with miniature people he knew in his own time.

He spent about two or more hours trying to entertain the giddy toddler before he had to depart.

_So much for trying not to run into familiar faces. From the time I got here, I managed to meet up with the young Kenshin, the old wolf, the ice block and the rest of the Oniwabanshu._

_Great job, Kenji!_ Said that little voice at the back of his head. _Why don't you just dig up old acquaintances and announce to the entire Japanese population that you're from the future, ne?_

_Oh shut up, baka!_

_Who are you calling stupid, stupid!_

_You, stupid!_

_If I'm stupid, at least I'm not the one who's arguing with himself!_

Convinced that he finally lost his mind, he quickened his pace, determined to go back to the tranquillity of his room and have a nice long nap.

When he finally noticed it, it was too late to turn back and run towards the other direction. There were several armed men blocking his exit.

He was face to face with Hajime Saitoh.

"And so, we meet again."

_Crap! This day just got better!  
_

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hahahahahahaha… -dodges rotten fruits thrown by incensed readers- ROFL, I thought it was a good place to stop for now. :p -puts hand inside out beside face and lets out a ohohohohohohoho laugh-  



	9. Kenshin vs Kenji part II

**I don't own Kenshin. :sniff:**

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**Marstanuki, Night-Owl123 and anyone else concerned about inconsistencies: **I'm so sorry for the conflicting stuff you guys. I think I've repeated myself lots of times already… I really did think that Kenji had dark hair like Kaoru. Every time I watch the OAV or see pics of him, he looks to me like he has dark hair! Someone did point it out to me in the beginning so after that, I wrote him as having red hair.

I tried going back and editing the dark hair, I hope I did it right… I'm new at this thing and I hope I didn't accidentally write over the wrong chapter. Lol

I really did think he had dark hair, my bad. I also fixed the Kyoto to Tokyo in the first chapter.

I've been high on Nyquil these past four days I think, I'm laying off the drugs and just going to ride this cold through. Ugggh… being sick does suck. Amen to that, **lolo**!

**Lily of the Shadow: **You read my mind. Lol I was thinking of what else Kenji could do while he was there and um, after you read this chapter and the next one after that, maybe we can have them go to Tokyo later on. Hehe

**De Lazy Lime: **haha, thanks:D

**lt.soniablade: **Sooner than you think! ;)

**Scythe195:** hehehe, Kenji's gonna snap soon, I promise. :P You think Kenshin's in character? Aw, thanks:D

Thanks to all the reviewers!

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**- CHAPTER 8 -**

Saitoh was just about convinced that taking a stroll in town was a bad idea when he saw a head full of red hair in the crowd. Not a lot of people had red hair in Kyoto, so he was fairly convinced that this was the guy from last night. He felt the boy's very familiar ki as well.

Silently motioning for his men to quietly encircle the guy, they went to their respective positions and cornered the kid. It was pretty easy considering the kid in question looked like he was busy contemplating on something, he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings.

Proof of which was when the kid didn't even notice his exits were already blocked until he came face to face with the Wolf of Mibuu.

"And so, we meet again."

"Um, hello?" Came the very hesitant answer. Kenji didn't want to get into another fight with the Shinsengumi, especially Saitoh in broad daylight! Given that they were in some deserted alley, but they just finished round 1 last night!

He groaned.

"Don't worry boy, we're not planning on killing you."

"We're not?" someone from the back questioned and shut up immediately as Saitoh gave him his best glare.

"I have questions to ask," Saitoh said.

Kenji gulped. _Well, as long as he only has questions and he's not here to fight me, I guess it's a good thing. _"Ask away," he replied and tried hard to relax.

"Why didn't you kill us last night?"

Kenji blinked. He expected just as much. Lifting his shoulders in a helpless manner, he went into another bout of explaining his beliefs. "The way of my sword style is not to kill people, I only wish to protect."

Saitoh rubbed the top of his head thoughtfully, feeling the huge bump that was still there. "And that sword you carry? It left bruises but not wounds."

"It's a reverse blade sword, from my father."

"So you're a bodyguard for the Ishin Shishi?"

Kenji couldn't help it, he really couldn't. "I think that's pretty obvious now, isn't it?" He dryly remarked.

Some of the men sniggered behind their leader and Saitoh's mouth lifted in a smile that wasn't filled with humor. "Funny. Just one more question before we let you go."

Kenji regarded the wolf inquisitively. "O-kay?" he said, drawing the word out.

"I am Hajime Saitoh, leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi. What's your name?"

Out of habit, Kenji bowed as he introduced himself, surprising most of the Shinsengumi members. "Kenji. Kenji Kamiya. Pleasure to meet you, Mister Saitoh."

Saitoh gave the kid credit, calling him "Mister" and remembering his manners by bowing. In his entire service as a Shinsengumi warrior, he's never faced the likes of this Kamiya Kenji before. He was a walking enigma. Very polite even to the enemy whom he didn't wish to slay.

"You do know that the next time we meet, I won't be so forgiving now, do you?" Saitoh remarked.

Kenji smirked. _What, you're gonna use Gatotsu Zero Style on me next time or something?_

There was an eerie silence as the young red-head's eyes widened. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did. How did you know about that!" The wolf hissed.

Kenji felt sick, he not only talked to himself now, but blurted out things as well. _Wow, am I going insane or what?_ "Err, I don't know what you're talking about Mister Saitoh. Now if you'll excuse me, you did promise to let me go this time. I'll try not to cross paths with you next time for my sake, that I will." He said ever-so-politely, hoping to calm them down.

Even though Saitoh didn't want to let him go, he did promise so he reluctantly relented. "Very well."

A path was cleared for Kenji and he gratefully distanced himself from the Shinsengumi as fast as he could, making a mental note to himself to be more alert of his surroundings this time.

……

"He's an odd one, that kid is."

Saitoh silently agreed with Okita. Only a handful of people knew about the succession technique of his sword-style. How an Ishin Shishi samurai found out about it boggled his mind. _Was there a spy in our midst? _His blood curled at the thought.

"He's a formidable opponent, that's for sure." Saitoh said and glanced behind his shoulder.

……

The Battoussai who watched the exchange between the new Ishin Shishi recruit and the Shinsengumi sucked in his breath and flattened himself along the walls of where he was hiding. _Did that narrow-eyed Shinsengumi warrior see me?_

He knew there was something wrong with the kid from the very beginning, and it wasn't just the uncanny resemblance to Kenshin that made the hitokiri be very doubtful about him.

He had taken to trailing the other redhead from that first morning he spent at the inn, was actually impressed when he found out about the guy's achievement last night, but there was this small doubt in the back of his mind that refused to go away. He could feel it in his gut, Kamiya was withholding some sort of information from them.

Disengaging himself from his current position and heading back to headquarters, thoughts of Kenji's treachery swam in his mind. _ I mean, what else do you call being able to talk face to face with the Shinsengumi in broad daylight and come out unscathed mean! I should've listened to my instincts and killed him on the spot that night. Now, even Katsura-san is giving him praises. _Kenshin bristled.

_You will pay for this betrayal, Kamiya!_

……

Kenji sneezed and then sneezed twice more, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. _How does that old saying go? If someone's talking about you, you sneeze and if they're talking bad stuff about you, you sneeze again?_ He shook his head, his auburn hair flying in the wind. _I haven't been here long enough to gain enemies, have I?_

The Kohagi Inn was located in the outskirts of town and as Kenji walked the path back home, a lone figure stood in the way of his route.

Upon closer inspection, he relaxed. It was just Kenshin. "Konnichiha, Kenshin!" He greeted good-naturedly, his previous anger about last night's threat far from his mind. He wasn't going to carry a grudge just yet. His young father looked bothered by something.

"I shall slay you where you stand, Kamiya, you traitor!" Kenshin suddenly shouted as he drew his sword and began to attack with his god-like speed.

Thanking his quick reflexes, Kenji drew his sword, blocked the blow that was aimed at his chest and glared at the young hitokiri. "Have you officially lost your mind?"

Kenshin laughed a sad laugh, spitting the words on Kenji's face over their opposing swords. "Katsura-san was kind enough to take you in, yet you fed him – **us** – with lies! I saw you with the Shinsengumi in Kyoto earlier, traitor!"

Kenji admitted to himself that what happened earlier was indeed bizarre. He didn't know how many Ishin Shishi and Shinsengumi warriors chatted amiably without any bloodshed in this day and age. He actually understood where his father was coming from and tried to pacify the young hitokiri.

"They wanted to talk to me, ask me why I didn't kill any of them last night!" He explained between dodging attacks.

The Battoussai laughed that fake laugh again, "You think I'll fall for your tricks twice? First you tell me that you visited shishou **"several"** years ago, but I do not recall shishou ever entertaining visitors in his cabin. **Not one.** He is a hermit. If you really did visit him "several" years ago, don't you think **I **would have met you? I left the mountain retreat only last year."

Kenji secretly cursed at himself for that blunder. What he said was the truth, but what Kenshin said made sense as well. Short of telling his enraged father the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Kenji didn't know what else to do.

He ducked another blow and backed away several feet in self-preservation. The hitokiri Battoussai was out for blood, his blood!

_This day has officially gone to the crapper!_

"Kenshin let me explain!"

"That's "Battoussai" to you, Kamiya! Stop acting so familiar with me. I don't mix well with traitors!"

"Can you please stop calling me a traitor?" Kenji bristled.

"You betrayed us, traitor!"

"I'm not a traitor okay!"

"Spoken like a true traitor. Don't worry, I shall make your death quick and painless. Hiten Mitsurugi Style, Ryu Sou Sen!" Kenshin shouted as he made multiple slashes at Kenji.

Despite the god-like speed that rivaled or even surpassed Kenshin's, Kenji sustained 2 cuts, due to the fact that he was extremely surprised at his father using a Hiten Mitsurugi move on him. Him! His son! _But, he doesn't know that, you dolt!_

_Well, so what! _

_I'm going to make him taste the ground. That would humble him!_

With his resolve strengthened and his temper ignited, Kenji let out a guttural shout that would have frozen the blood of ordinary men.

The Battoussai wasn't affected however. _I knew it! He's a traitor! _"Hiten Mitsurugi Style, Ryu Tsui Sen!" He shouted as he jumped up and prepared to attack Kenji from the air.

Supremely angry at the fact that his father was attacking him **again**, Kenji, with his eyes stinging from unshed tears and years of frustration towards his future rurouni father who abandoned him and his mother, gave it all he got. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style, Ryu Tsui Sho Sen!" Performing the combo of Ryu Tsui Sen and Ryu Shou Sen as the Battoussai was coming down from above - Ryu Tsui Sen first, then Ryu Shou Sen - Kenji caused double damage.

The young hitokiri was beyond astonished. He landed into a pathetic heap on the ground, his body feeling like he just fell from the waterfall back at his shishou's place. Twice. _Did he just use a Hiten Mitsurugi move on me! _Fighting to stay awake despite the aches and pains of his body, he leaned hard on his sword, but fell into a crumpled heap on the ground.

"I hate you! I hate you Kenshin! You're a terrible father!" Kenji's shout startled the birds in the forest, as tears streamed down his face at the sight of his defeated father on the ground.

Those were the last words Kenshin heard as he lost consciousness.


	10. Coming clean

**Warning: Extremely sappy chapter ahead, sorry I couldn't help myself. :P**

**I truly wish I owned Kenshin. :sigh:**

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**- CHAPTER 9 -**

Kenshin Himura opened his eyes and met the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling with surprise. He was laying down on his futon beside his katana back at the inn! _Did I just imagine being beaten by Kamiya using my own Hiten Mitsurugi style? _He tried to sit up and his body groaned in protest. If it was just a dream then it felt extremely real. He could still feel the blows from the combo attacks. He also noticed that there was blood on the sheets, and his eyes widened.

The blood looked like it was coming from his face. When he touched it, he felt a diagonal slash on his left cheek. _He managed to injure me despite his reverse-blade sword on top of defeating me? _Blood was pouring out of his cheek and soiling his clothes, so he hastily stood up and found a rag to apply pressure on the wound.

As he changed his bloodstained clothes, he continued contemplating.

No one had been able to beat him before, except for his shishou when they were training, and using a combo move was something that Kenshin never had the chance to witness before either. He's never had to use any fancy Hiten Mitsurugi moves like that since he joined the Cho Su faction.

His amazement about the fact that he was defeated wasn't long lasting, however. He sobered as he thought of how the boy Kamiya was able to use a Hiten Mitsurugi move on him, catching him off-guard.

There was only one master and one apprentice for the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, and shishou was the master while he was the apprentice in this current time. His master couldn't have trained another apprentice after Kenshin left, could he? _I left only last year… he couldn't have found a replacement apprentice immediately or trained him that fast…_

And… and did Kamiya call me 'father'? I know I heard him call me father before, which makes that twice now… counting the first time we met and exchanged swords.

It was so bizarre. Kamiya was older than him, so he couldn't be the boy's father. Unless the boy was from the future, which was impossible, Kenshin thought that the boy was demented.

Tucking his katana into the belt of his hakama, Kenshin threw the rag haphazardly on the floor, exited his room and headed towards Kamiya's room. _The only way I can get answers is by talking to him._

Standing in front of the door, he knocked cautiously, still not sure on what to expect. Opening the shoji, Kenji's violet eyes narrowed, stopping at the diagonal scar that now graced the younger man's face, when he saw that it was Kenshin.

"What do you want?"

The Battoussai almost flinched from the venom in Kamiya's voice. "To talk."

Kenji scoffed. "Aren't you Mr. Slay-Now-Ask-Questions-Later?" Despite his current temper, he knew that this 'talk' was inevitable so he opened the door wider, inviting the hitokiri in and closed the door securely behind him. Crossing the room, he opened his window and started climbing out. "Let's talk on the roof," he offered to explain and then turned around, not waiting for his father.

Once the two redheads were settled comfortably on the top of the roof of the inn, the younger one decided to break the silence first.

"So who are you exactly and why do you keep calling me your father? How… how were you able to use a Hiten Mitsurugi move on me?"

Kenji was quiet for a couple of minutes before finally deciding to come clean. He took a deep breath. "What I am about to tell you, no one else must know. I have already botched things up big time and I don't need to mess them up some more. I am only explaining this to you because I don't want you doubting and trying to kill me every time we cross paths on the street. What I will tell you must not grace anyone else's ears, do you understand? You must swear this upon your honor as a swordsman."

"I promise," Kenshin nodded.

"My real name is Kenji Himura. Kamiya is my mother's family name. As hard as it may be to believe, I come from your future, Kenshin. I'm your son."

Kenshin sucked in his breath at the startling news, not sure whether to believe this kid or not. "If you really are from the future then how come you're here?"

Kenji shrugged. "I can't explain it myself. I had just finished training under Hiko-sama and was on my way home to Tokyo when I decided to stop by someone's grave," He paused, "your first wife's grave, and a thick fog choked me. The next thing that happened was me walking into the middle of your sword fight that night we met."

"That's why you called me otousan that first time." The young hitokiri observed and then blinked. "First wife?" He squeaked and furrowed his brows.

"Yes." Kenji continued. "My mother was your second wife. You're supposed to have gotten married in the Bakamatsu and your wife died." Kenji paused, not sure if he should tell his father that he was the one who killed his first wife.

"What is it?"

The older Himura sighed. _In for a penny, in for a pound… _"You were supposed to accidentally kill your first wife, causing you to become a wandering swordsman for 10 years after the Bakamatsu and vowing never to kill again before you met my mother. I don't know exactly when, but judging from the way things are around here, I'm guessing I somehow prevented you from meeting your first wife. If…" Kenji took a deep breath, "if you don't become a rurouni or meet my mother, I'm never going to be born."

Several minutes of silence passed before one of them spoke again. "This is all kind of hard to believe, don't you think? What makes you confident that I would believe you? I saw you talk with the Shinsengumi today and you don't want to kill the enemies!"

Kenji laughed a hollow laugh. "Believe it or not, **you **were one of the people who influenced me and my mentor about 'protecting the weak' and 'not killing'. My mother's sword style is called Kamiya Kasshin Style, which invigorates the body and protects people, like I told you that night with Katsura-san, but you believe in protecting people while not having to kill anyone years from now as well." He regarded his father silently and pointed to the sakabatou hanging from his hip. "This was yours."

Kenshin was still struggling with himself. Part of him wanted to believe the young man who looked so much like him, yet part of him was fighting against his gut instinct.

"How else will someone who looks totally like you, someone who could pass as your twin," he glanced at Kenshin's diagonal scar, "or not… okay, someone who looks exactly like you, only maybe with darker red hair and darker purple eyes… I **know **your normal eye color is purple, don't deny it," Kenji hastily added, silencing his father, "use the Hiten Mitsurugi style? You know as well as I that there is only one apprentice and one master at a time."

Kenshin frowned at this. The boy's words rang true. But wait… "If there is only one apprentice and one master, does that mean that I'm dead in the future? Your future? And what was that about telling me you hate me before I lost consciousness in the forest earlier?"

The young bodyguard smiled a painful smile. "Right now, in my future, like I told you before, both my parents are dead. I hated… or sometimes still hate you… because you abandoned me and mother to travel all over Japan and "protect the weak". Three years ago, I ran away from home and went to Hiko-sama to train. A close family friend who's almost a blood relative came back to retrieve me because mother was ill. Some time after I returned to Tokyo, you finally returned from your long trip in Shanghai but died on the spot after reuniting with mother. I never got to know you." The words were said with pure emotion, Kenshin can almost feel the hurt and bitterness that the young man directed toward him, his father.

This teenager… really was his son, Kenshin could feel it in his heart. For the first time since he became a hitokiri, he felt the stirrings of what could be described as emotions again. Being a hitokiri, he resolved with himself not to feel for other people anymore, deeming himself unworthy of happiness when he took away the lives of people who represented happiness for their families as well.

No matter how you look at it, murder is murder no matter how 'just' your cause was. He had to learn the hard way, and it slowly killed him from the inside out. He was practically devoid of all emotions most of the time.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried to deny it, deep inside his hitokiri heart, he could feel that this teenager was telling him the truth.

Kenshin's heart soared at this piece of information. _I'm going to survive through the Bakamatsu! And I was going to be blessed with a family! But…_ "Was I such a bad person? Why do you hate me so much?"

Recognizing that his father was finally starting to believe him, Kenji couldn't help but be blunt. "Oh no, don't get me wrong. You're a wonderful **person**, and maybe even a passable **_husband_**, but you were a terrible **father**!" Kenji said, spitting the last word out like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. "You were hardly, or mostly **never** there for me! You were always off in some corner of Japan in one of your 'save the world' escapades. I was an only child and mother spent most of her life in the docks of Tokyo, waiting for your return."

He had been far too forgiving because he reasoned with himself that Himura the Battoussai haven't done the things that Kenshin Himura the wanderer did yet, but getting attacked by him **twice**, with the intent of killing, was just too much. And all this talk about the past was rubbing salt on Kenji's still fresh wounds.

"I don't know why I was sent here," He regarded his father quietly. "But the minute I found out who you were, I thought that Kami-sama was giving me a second chance to get to know you, develop some sort of relationship with you and not feel so bitter every time the subject of the legendary Kenshin Himura, the former Hitokiri Battoussai turned Wandering Swordsman and Savior of the World, came up."

"If you really are my son, how come you were talking to the Shinsengumi earlier?"

Kenji laughed genuinely this time. "Believe it or not, one of those Shinsengumi people I was talking to earlier will become an ally in the future. My friendship with him is based entirely on insults but I still greatly respect him."

"Him?"

"Maybe it's best for you not to know, you know? I've already told you so much about your future. It's not that important anyway. What's top priority right now is how I'm going to be born. No wandering swordsman equals no Kenji, remember?"

The Battoussai nodded, amusement dancing in his eyes for the first time ever since Kenji met him.

"You also don't look like yourself," Kenshin's son remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your scar. It's not an X like it should be."

Kenshin didn't think he liked the fact that he was going to have an X-shaped scar all his life. "So I'm cursed with an X-shaped scar forever as well?" He asked, touching the diagonal wound on his face.

Chuckling, Kenji replied, "Don't worry, it's going to be **famous**! Like you."

Himura the Battoussai didn't think he liked that piece of information but nodded his head despite of it. "What if it doesn't become an X?"

"I can complete it for you," Kenji said slyly.

Kenshin actually smiled and shook his head. "No thanks, this diagonal line's going to keep me occupied for the time being, thanks." He also couldn't help but notice the spurts of bossiness that his son tended to display once in a while. He smiled again. "Was your mother a bossy woman?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Kenji was sure to mark this day on the calendar, the day that he heard the Battoussai laugh a sincere laugh. "What's so funny?" Asked Kenji which sent the Battoussai into another bout of hysterics.

Kenshin was feeling like a heavy weight was being lifted from his shoulders. If what his son said was true, he was going to marry a woman who sounded pure and innocent, with beliefs like Kenji about not killing people with a sword and protecting them instead. They also know about his past, which meant that the said woman probably accepted him as he was, just Kenshin, and not as Battoussai the Manslayer. Considering the nightmare era that he was in right now, and the gruesome reality of his job as a ruthless hitokiri, Kenshin found himself actually looking forward to his future for the first time in a long while.

……

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A/N: Hehe, this chapter was one page longer than my normal 3-page chapters in word and full of sappy stuff. Sorry, I couldn't help myself! I just pictured myself in Kenji's place and imagined how –I- would feel if my dad left me and my mom like that. :sigh: I hope Kenji and Kenshin didn't sound too girly. :P 


	11. Breakfast at Kohagi's

**I own all rights to anything and everything Kenshin.**

**(You don't really believe all the crap, do you:P)**

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**lt.soniablade: **I don't know yet. :ponders: I really wish not to see Tomoe in this fic at all, but I don't know yet. :P The chances of Tomoe making an appearance in this fic is about .0000001 percent ROFL, sorry, this fic isn't for Tomoe fans, I'm afraid. :(

**Lily of the Shadow: **I've always thought that honesty is the best policy and well, I've written parts of myself into Kenji and couldn't help myself on that chapter. :blush: I don't know if I'm usually this fast of an updater. I've just had lots of spare time this weekend and listening to the OAV soundtrack inspires me. Hehe I'm also very impatient… and can't wait to see how the story plays out. Because I really have no idea myself for now. ROFL

**AuburnMoonlight: **Back away from the crazy chickens. :P

**De Lazy Lime: **Dangit! I knew that was too easy! It just stuck to my mind and I couldn't get it off, lol. I know that fic, that fic's my fave! It's Bunny's! Sorry bunny:( :sigh: I feel so bad now. :(

I shall try to update as much as I can, but the weekend is ending. :sniff: I might not be able to update as much as I do right now, but I will try my best, that I will. :nod:

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**- CHAPTER 10 -**

Ever since the talk on the roof, the two redheads had become almost inseparable.

However, the relationship between father and son wasn't a bed of roses just because Kenji finally came clean with Kenshin about his origins just yet.

Kenji felt like he could act normally around Kenshin now, so he felt like he didn't need to cut Kenshin any slack anymore. If he wasn't before, he was more brutally honest than normal now. He also felt safer for his sanity because he had someone to talk to about his time with.

Kenshin on the other hand, sometimes found himself treading cautiously around Kenji due to the latter's confession about hating him in the future. He felt extremely guilty every time he thought about the times when he attacked Kenji, too. But, he also felt proud of the fact that his son seemed to be very skilled with a sword. In his opinion, although he admitted to himself that it just may be a tad bit biased considering that the kid was his son, Kenji not only had skills, but he had a brilliant mind as well. On top of that, the kid had really good morals and conduct. _I wonder if he got that from me or from his mother…?_

Despite his easy acceptance and pride in Kenji, the Battoussai was also still trying to get used to the fact that the teenager who was two years older than him really was his kid. He didn't know, didn't have experience, and was stumped on how to deal with the situation.

Everything was so very complicated.

The young hitokiri could also feel himself growing soft every time he looked at Kenji, and he couldn't help but wonder about the kid's mother every time.

If anybody found this new-found closeness between the skilled assassin and the new bodyguard unusual, nobody commented on it. Katsura was even pleased that their young hitokiri seemed to have gained a friend.

……

On their way to breakfast, the Battoussai couldn't help but notice the smirk that was firmly in place on Kenji's face. He raised a brow in question.

"It's been more than a week, ten days to be exact." Kenji remarked, looking like a well-fed cat.

Kenshin frowned. _Was that supposed to mean something? _He couldn't figure out what the significance of that statement was. "More than a week since what?"

"Since I came here. You told me that I wouldn't last a week with my 'piece of scrap' of a sword, remember?"

As Kenji continued to gloat, Kenshin remembered that particular conversation. "Well, considering that you are from the blood of my blood, I should hope that you'll last longer than a week, even with that useless sword of yours." Kenji growled but the young hitokiri continued, oblivious to the temper he was once more igniting. "And besides, now that I know who you are, do you really think that I'm going to let you die? I will protect you, don't worry. No one will dare lay a finger on you and survive."

The older redhead scoffed. "Excuse me **_Kenshin_**," he drawled out, causing Kenshin to frown. 'Kenshin' didn't like being called "Kenshin" by his son, even if the kid was older, but every time they discussed what to call each other, they ended up with a battle of wills with no victor - Kenji refusing to call him "father" since it would raise suspicions; Kenshin refusing to let Kenji call him plain 'Kenshin' because he was technically Kenji's father and it sounded disrespectful; Kenji also refused to call him "Battoussai" because it solidified the fact that his father really was a ruthless assassin and he didn't want to think about it - "But I distinctly recall someone's ass getting kicked about several days ago," Kenji looked pointedly at Kenshin's diagonal wound on the left cheek that looked like it was starting to heal. "If I can defeat the legendary Battoussai, don't you think I'm more than capable of 'taking care' of myself?"

"But you are still my," Kenshin dropped his voice to a whisper, "son."

"But I'm older than you!"

"So?"

"I'm older than you."

"So?"

"I'm older than you!"

Kenshin sighed. "So? Just because you're older than me now doesn't change the facts, does it? You should show respect to your father."

"Well you should show respect to your elders, and I'm still technically older than you!"

"You are so hard-headed."

The young bodyguard snorted. "I probably got that from you."

"No, you probably got that from your mother."

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Not."

"To."

"No."

"Yes."

On and on they argued until they reached the dining room. The sight of the Battoussai arguing with his look-alike was a normal occurrence in the inn by now so it wasn't any wonder that nobody lifted their heads from their miso soup as the two redheads continued to argue.

"I took it easy on you, you know."

"Did not!"

"If I'd have known you can use my sword style, I would have taken the fight more seriously."

Kenji just rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his rice ball. Himura the Battoussai had been really chatty these past few days, and became what can only be described as friendly, to Kenji. If he didn't know any better… "You know _Kenshin_, I think you're growing soft just because you found out who I really was."

"I haven't!" the Battoussai vehemently denied.

"Could've fooled me." Kenji smiled an offensively self-satisfied smile, feeling like he won this round.

Before the young hitokiri could come up with a comeback, Iizuka appeared beside him, gaining his attention. "I have another assignment for you tonight," he told Kenshin and slipped him a piece of paper.

For the first time since he accepted the job as a hitokiri in the shadows, Kenshin felt extremely uncomfortable. _What did Kenji think of me right now?_ He accepted the piece of paper from Iizuka and nodded his head as the man stood up and left the room.

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two for the first time in several days.

"It's okay you know, I understand. It's your job." Offered Kenji, trying to relieve the tension. He himself had to go to bodyguard assignments during the past few days, but he knew that Kenshin's job was very different from his own.

They really needed to get past this hitokiri business. If Kenshin doesn't do his job, then he's not going to help usher in the new era. No Meiji era equals bad news.

"I understand," Kenji said again and placed a reassuring hand on Kenshin's shoulder, squeezing it.

It seemed to do the trick, since the Battoussai almost smiled and nodded his head gratefully. Both Himuras continued to eat breakfast in companionable silence.

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A/N: Okay, my muse just died. :P I feel so terrible, I re-read Bunny's fic and there it is. That line I love so much. :sniff: I'm so sorry:cries:sigh:( I feel so bad… I wanted to re-write that part but I just felt so disheartened by copying that line, I swear I didn't mean to. :sniff: I shall hold the funeral for my muse at 3pm tomorrow. :P 

Bleugh, my heart wasn't on this chapter either… I feel sooooooooooo bad. :sigh:

I need something to cheer me up… I'll try to watch that episode where Kenshin accidentally proposes to Kaoru and see if my dead muse would come back to life, okie :P

Wish me luck!


	12. I spy

**ROFLMAO Night-Owl123** ROFLROFL, thanks! I think your ritual worked… my muse survived somehow. ROFL It's barely alive so it's in intensive care right now though. :P

**girl from ipanema: **Kenshin isn't Kenshin without his X-shaped scar so he's going to have that other slash by the end of this fic. ;)

**lolo popoki: **You know, one of the things that I find difficulty in writing are the fight scenes. :sigh: I want to make them as clear as possible, but also as short as possible so I don't make a lot of errors. lol I'm glad you liked the fight. :)

**Lily of the Shadow: **LOL! My muse would like to thank you for the flowers. :D I'm glad you can see them arguing like that as well. :D

**Random ramblings:** I rewrote that part:sigh: even though it still makes me sad that I didn't catch that. I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite remember where and how I picked that up. Oro. :sigh:

**De Lazy Lime: **Thanks! I thought it kinda sucked a bit, but my Nick shows were on so I had to rush it. :P

Heh, couldn't write so much on Sunday since I have shows to watch. I love Zoe 101. (Nick 8pm, Sundays) :P And that new show Avatar the Last Air Bender? Pretty interesting, it's on CN at 8/7c on Fridays. :nod: They do repeats on Sundays though… oh yes, and Danny Phantom is on Sundays as well. :P

Hehehe, "Belated Happy Birthday, Miss Kaoru." When her birthday was two months ago. ROFL And that look on his face! LMAO When Yahiko pointed out that he inadvertently asked Kaoru's hand in marriage. ROFL!

I think I've gotten the hang out of this uploading thing. :P It keeps eating some of my ":"s though, which is really irritating. :sigh:

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**- CHAPTER 11 -**

_Another one bites the dust._ After he finished his assassinations for this night, the Battoussai flicked the blood off of his sword and put it away. Not waiting for Iizuka who made to clean up after him, he couldn't help but think of how his perspective in life was radically changing right now.

When he was 14, he felt like he was right when he said that he could save people from suffering using his sword. With that in mind, he defied his master and stubbornly offered his sword to one side of a conflict, going against the teachings of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style.

Being a manslayer, he began slaying parts of himself each time he assassinated someone. The little boy who was once a son of a poor farmer turned slave turned apprentice was now a murderer. He truly hit rock bottom.

But now… meeting Kenji, he had found a confidant. Someone who offered him a glimmer of light beyond the darkness.

Remembering a certain conversation, Kenshin's amber eyes softened and adapted a purple hue.

"_Does it bother you that your father is the hitokiri Battoussai and it's my job to kill people?"_

"_Was Kenshin, was. It's kind of disturbing, but I know you're doing it for the greater good." Kenji paused. "There are many things we must do in life that we dislike. Bearing these situations only makes us stronger and more wise. No matter how harsh the reality of the nature of your job right now may be, just remember that you're fighting for a good cause. Years from now, you'll learn to repent for the 'sins' you have committed. No one can truly forgive themselves, or find 100 percent salvation, but you can't be so hard on yourself, Kenshin."_

"_Easy for you to say. Someone who never tasted blood on their sword can never sympathize with murderers like me."_

"_Puh-leeze. Stop putting yourself down, Kenshin! You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone you know!" _

_Trying to get used to his son calling him 'Kenshin', the Battoussai continued. "It's not about me carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. It's about redemption."_

"_You can only do so much to achieve redemption that you will **never **give to yourself. Don't try to justify hurting your loved ones, your family, with some twisted sense of self-redemption. It's not worth it."_

The manslayer weighed those words in his mind, repeating them over and over again. _I can never forgive myself or find salvation, but I must not be so hard on myself? Was that why I chose to abandon my family in his future? Because I felt so unworthy of accepting the happiness that was practically handed on a platter for me to enjoy? _He frowned at this future self of his, not really liking that decision so much anymore. _Was hurting my wife and child more important than not allowing myself to settle down and just be happy? _

He really didn't know the circumstances in which his future self came to such a decision, but he can say for sure right now that he didn't intend to make the same mistakes. He was going to repent for his sins, yes, but not at the expense of his spouse and child.

……

Celebrating after a kill seemed wrong to the young hitokiri, but the older son insisted that they were just going to town to have a good time.

"A celebration of our new-found relationship if you may." Kenji reasoned, so Kenshin reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged into town.

Seated at some restaurant, they ordered saké and Kenji even challenged his father to a drinking contest. The younger Himura objected to Kenji drinking at first, not sure if he was being a good example to his kid, but the 'kid' reminded him that he was technically older than him, and if Kenshin was allowed to drink, then so was Kenji.

Agreeing to drink, but not to a contest and only within a bare minimum, the Battoussai's tongue was loosened enough for him to ask Kenji a barrage of questions which the other tried to answer truthfully but without giving too much information away.

"Tell me about your mother."

"Hm. Where to start. Mom… was… a strong woman. She was orphaned at a young age but managed to keep her dojo afloat all by herself. She was caring, warm, compassionate and a very good kendou instructor."

"Really now."

"Yes really. She also has a mean right hook, I'm warning you now." Both of them chuckled, Kenshin not really believing it.

"Did you leave anyone special back at your own time?"

Kenji was thoughtful for a minute before he replied, "Nah."

"Did you finish your training with shishou?" came the unexpected question.

Kenji smiled a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head, looking kind of embarrassed. "Yes, I'm officially the 15th successor of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style."

"Fifteenth? Does that mean that… I get to finish my training as well?"

_Crap! Open mouth, insert foot. _"Um… well, um… I'll tell you in another life, when we are both cats." He said, trying to avoid the question.

"Since you are the 15th and shishou is the 13th, I can safely conclude that I am the 14th successor. There is no other logical explanation. Come on, you can tell me, can't you?"

Kenji sighed, defeated. _Kenshin is too observant for his own good._ "Yes," He reluctantly confirmed. There was no use denying what he let already slip in the first place. "You go back to finish your training, indeed you do."

"That's nice to know," Kenshin said, the corner of his eyes crinkling in merriment.

"So all that stuff you said about me lacking in training is so not true. I have more training than you do, technically. I could be considered your master and you can be my apprentice right now." Kenji said mischievously and Kenshin sweatdropped at his son's conceit.

"Does a large ego come with the succession technique as well?"

"I'm not conceited like a certain someone we know!" (Somewhere in the mountains Seijuro Hiko XIII sneezes)

"I think you're in denial."

"I'm not in denial. I'm just very selective about the reality I wish to accept."

The look on the Battoussai's face was very doubtful. "Sure, whatever you say."

To an outsider, the pair of them would have looked like they were having a good time indeed.

……

"You're drunk."

"Am not! I've **never** been drunk!"

"Never say never."

"Honest!"

"Sure, whatever you say."

As two redheads walked along the cobblestone path, one of them leaning against the other for support, a pair of gleaming eyes waited in the dark for the perfect opportunity to attack.

He was hired to take out Battoussai the Manslayer, and it was said that the Battoussai had red hair… but… both of these kids had red hair. _Which one was Battoussai?_ _Not to worry, I'll just have to slay them both, double my bounty._ With that thought in mind, he poised to launch his assault.

……

Kenji, a bit woozy from the amount of saké he consumed, wasn't able to sense the threatening presence until it attacked them full on. He was just a tad bit sluggish, but thanks to his father dragging him away from the blow, he managed to get away unscathed.

He rolled safely to the ground and raised his head, trying to judge the situation.

Vowing never to touch saké again, Kenji wobbly reached for his sakabatou on his hip. His father looked like he needed help… even though there were two of them against… his vision blurred a bit before it focused and he counted two enemies as well. _Wait… **two** Kenshins? Wow, I guess I really am drunk!_

……

"Die, Battoussai!" Those were the last words the man uttered.

Breathing heavily from the rage he felt, Kenshin felt the first drops of rain just as he sliced the assassin in half, blood splattering everywhere.

His rage was directed towards the now divided fellow cut in two by his blade, for daring to threaten his son.

"You're bleeding! Are you hurt?" said Kenji in a slightly slurred accent.

The Battoussai shook his head. His exertion from the fight caused his diagonal wound to open again and it was bleeding down the side of his face. Aside from that, there was also the matter of the other assassin's blood. "I'm fine, let's hurry back to headquarters."

……

"We have a spy in our midst."

News about the mystery assassin attacking Kenshin and Kenji traveled fast and Katsura was greatly concerned. It could only mean one thing: They had a spy in their midst. Many of the Ishin Shishi turned their eyes to the innocent-looking Kenji, who was the best target for suspicion since he was new to the fold.

Himura the Battoussai met their suspicious glances with deadly glares so they turned away, embarrassed.

"Until we figure out what happened, Himura-san, I suggest that you and Kamiya-san lay low for a while." Katsura said and dismissed the meeting. "I would like to talk to Kamiya-san for a bit, if you don't mind."

The young hitokiri didn't look too keen on the idea of leaving his look-alike alone, but Kenji ushered him out of the room and closed the shoji door behind him.

Kogoro Katsura realized just how much influence this look-alike is beginning to have or already has on Kenshin and he tried to explain the cause of the Ishin Shishi to Kenji.

Kenji listened to the man with his purple eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth forming a small "o". He didn't know what the heck the man wanted with him and why the guy was talking about the Tokugawa regime and sheathes. It sounded kinda gay to him. _Isn't this a bit of a bad time to be giving history lessons?_

"We are trying to throw Japan into chaos because only complete chaos can topple a government that lasted for three hundred years and that alone will allow a new era to be built." Katsura paused, trying to let the young redhead digest this piece of information before continuing. "Himura has been given the cruelest task, to be the Guardian of Chaos."

Kenji nodded even though he didn't know how to respond to that.

"I couldn't help but notice that you and the Battoussai have formed a close friendship."

Kenji raised his brow. _If this guy was implying that either Kenshin or I were gay, I'm gonna have to Futae his Kiwami no matter how influential or important this guy is._

"My wife acts as my sheathe. She protects me, shields me from the madness that threatens to overtake a person in this day and age."

_This guy likes riddles, doesn't he? Meesa no speaka in riddlessa, _Kenji wanted to say but kept his mouth shut.

"Since the Battoussai has no woman in his life right now, perhaps a good friend can act as a substitute for that sheathe. Help him, Kamiya-san, be his confidant and help him stay away from the madness."

……

_Well that was bizarre. But I did kind of understand what he was saying… I mean, that's what I came here for, right?_ Kenji thought as he exited the room and faced his father who was waiting for him.

"What did Katsura-san want with you?"

"He accused me of being the spy," Kenji joked and regretted it immediately when Kenshin's eyes flashed amber and he reached for his sword. "I'm kidding! Just kidding! He was talking to me about sheathes and madness, something about being your friend since no one wants to befriend a weirdo like you."

"That was not funny, Kenji-chan." Battoussai said, his mouth twisting.

"You're too serious for your own good, you know that? Lighten up, man!"

"This **'man' **is still your father."

"Whatever you say." Kenji said, throwing what seemed like Kenshin's favorite sentence back at his face.

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**Non-sense chatter:** Does anybody else think Saitoh's probably the coolest character in the series? I mean, don't get me wrong… I'm TOTALLY in love with Kenshin. I adore Kaoru. I like Sano and Yahiko. I drool over Aoshi. I get spasms every time I see Sojiro. I couldn't help but fan myself when I see Master Hiko because I think he's sooooooo cool and he really does have the right to be as cocky as he is. But Saitoh man… is that guy super cool or what! That Gatotsu through the door straight at Shishio's forehead is THE coolest entrance in the entire RK series in my opinion. Freaked me out big time when Shishio just **grinned** it off afterwards but it was still super cool! And Saitoh's theme song… it makes me want to get up and Aku Soku Zan. ROFL

… and hehehehe… sorry, I couldn't help but quote from Vanilla Sky. :P


	13. Challenges & Random Conversations

**Must I put a disclaimer on every chapter? What if I forget? It's not as if anyone's going to believe I truly own Kenshin anyway. :P**

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**lolo popoki: **:grins: I'm glad you liked that one. hehehehehe I hope Kenshin's not terribly out of character. :o) Aw, nobody liked the part I nicked from Vanilla Sky? LOL

**Night-Owl123: **Ah! Not you too! LOL, okay that line, I was expecting someone to comment about the part which I nicked from Vanilla Sky… I don't know why but that line stuck to my mind as well. hehe. Peacemaker! **:frantic: **Does that involve RK! Is that an RK movie:hyperventilates: I haven't seen that one! Mou! What is it:shakes Night Owl until you tell me: hehe

**scythe195: **hahaha… I didn't want anyone to get the idea that Kenshin and Kenji are going to hook up or anything along the lines of that so I thought I'd let Kenji take care of that angle. Rofl I'm glad you liked it. :D

**Lily of the Shadow: **I haven't read any of the manga:sniff: I was a brat and had to get all the RK videos for Christmas last year so I have the entire series, movie and OAVs on DVD. Hehe

**SereneC: **I won't:o) I'll try to update as much as I can. :o) This weekend I got lucky that's why I had lots of chapters. Heh

**Pnaixrose: **LOL! I like that phrase, too! ROFL I'll activate the anonymous reviews feature… I'm an noob so I had it turned off. Hehe sorry:D I don't know if I can delete flames lol. And yours is the longest review I've had so far! Haha Thanks:D and as for the grammar…. Lol! No one's ever told me I had impeccable grammar before:marks day in calendar: rofl! AND OF COURSE SOJIRO AND KENSHIN ARE THE COOLEST:spasms: I don't even think I can even think of either of the two without feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Sojiro is Kenshin the Second. Haha. A younger, more psychotic, faster version of Kenshin who also smiles more. :P

**celest4: **Maybe Kenshin and Misao are right and Tokio's some kind of Buddha. LOL I wonder what kind of woman she is as well, that I do. :nod: I like Sano too… The RK series is just filled with guys to drool for. :breaks out the drool bucket: Heh, I got lucky these past four days being able to do lots of chapters, but my schedule caught up with me:sigh: and my muse is getting shy. Oo Bad muse, bad!

**Hitokiri Yumemi: **Thanks:)

**Random ramblings:** Oro… I think I uploaded 4 chapters last time, ne? O.o I'm just trying to make up for lost time I might not be able to update in the future, that I am. Like… right now. :P

My friends think I'm weird because I tell them I'll Amakakeru their Hirameki or Futae their Kiwami whenever they irritate me. lol, thought I'd share that with you. :P

Aaaand… I wrote this chapter while listening to **Kono Sekai no Katasumi de** over and over and over and over… and over… and over… and over … and over… and over again, so prepare yourself for more useless non-sense. :P

Thanks so much to all the reviewers! You make my day, that you do. :D

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**- CHAPTER 12 -**

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"I win again, Kenji-chan." Kenshin said nonchalantly.

"No fair! You cheated! I want a rematch, Kenshin!"

"Whatever you say, Kenji-chan."

"And stop calling me little!"

"If you insist on calling me plain "Kenshin" then I think I can call you "-chan", can I not?"

Kenji huffed and readied to challenge the hitokiri again.

Normal people hearing their conversation would assume that the two redheads were engaged in some kind of deathmatch, especially if they happened to see the identical set of faces, which were scrunched in concentration, their bodies tense and alert.

As beads of perspiration trickled down their foreheads, birds chirped outside the serenity of the inn, leaves rustled together with the blowing of the wind, father and son called upon the teachings of the Hiten Mitsurugi style… "One, two, three, go!"

Releasing their grips, after pulling on the strings, they waited with bated breath, as seconds turned into minutes and seemed to stretch into eternity.

Kenshin couldn't help but feel amused by the way Kenji was taking this far too seriously.

Since his son didn't seem like someone who was used to losing, Kenshin didn't even feel the slightest bit bad when his top began to wobble and eventually stopped spinning entirely, while Kenji's remained spinning.

Kenji pumped his right hand into the air and his scream could be heard throughout the solitude of the secluded inn. "Hell yeah! Can I have an oro?"

"Oro?"

"Take that Battoussai the Manslayer! You've finally met your match! Ha!" Exclaimed Kenji victoriously, feeling like he just won the battle of Toba Fushimi. He was having the time of his life, even if they were laying low.

'Laying low' meant doing nothing except stay in the confines of the inn for both Kenji and Kenshin, so they had to resort to entertaining each other with stories about each other's lives, often practicing swords against each other (one which the Battoussai immensely enjoyed but will never admit to anyone), and their newest past-time – playing with tops.

It was a special day however, because for the first time since they started their game, Kenji was finally able to beat Kenshin.

As Kenji went into a chorus of victory dances and shouts, the young hitokiri could only shake his head, highly entertained by his son's antics.

"I think you exaggerate too much." One defeat did not mean that they were now equal in top-spinning abilities. Sometimes, Kenji was far too competitive for his own sake.

"I don't exaggerate, I just think big."

The Battoussai just sighed in response. Kenji seemed to enjoy sassing him a lot_, probably making up for lost time. _His experience as a hitokiri gave him no help with dealing with the likes of this Kenji Himura. During the days they've spent together, he surmised that Kenji basked in this friendly rivalry he tried to set up between the two of them. Somehow, they managed to develop a father-son-brother kind of relationship.

**……**

It was another normal day at the Kohagi inn.

"Hurry up, Kenshin!" Kenji pounded on Kenshin's door impatiently. It was the seventh day of their self-imposed captivity and Kenji was getting antsier by the day.

Once again, Kenshin found himself shaking his head at the older boy's impatience as he opened the door and looked at the face that mirrored his own. "Can you not think of any other name to call me aside from plain "Kenshin"? It borders on disrespectful, considering."

Not moving from his spot, which was blocking the exit and entrance to the room, Kenji seemed to consider this for a moment. "Okay, what would you like me to call you then?" He said and rested his thumb and forefinger beneath his chin and looked deep in thought as he stared at a spot on the ceiling above them. "How about… Kenshin-dono?"

"…"

"Mr. De Gozaru Yo?"

"…"

"Oro-sama?"

"…"

"Samonosuke?"

"...?..."

"Baka deshi? Ken-san? Himura?" Kenji counted the names off from memory and then considered the last choice for a bit before he shook his head. "Nah, that'd be too weird. How about… Sessha?" He said, all the "s" letters in the word gliding smoothly from his tongue in a prolonged manner.

The Battoussai's forehead wrinkled at the suggestions. "Where did you get all those names from?"

"You somehow develop a liking for the "–dono" honorific as well as the "oro" word and practically end most of your sentences with "de gozaru" in the future, that you do." Kenji nodded knowingly, information like this he had gathered from family friends and neighbors. "The others are some of the names your friends call you." Kenji said, adapting an ever-so-polite tone.

Kenshin looked more than skeptical, there was a definite arc to his right brow. "Samonosuke?"

"Long story, don't ask."

Deciding not to press it any further, the Battoussai asked, "And what does your mother call me?" His eyes softening a bit.

Kenji sniggered. "Kenshin no baka."

Kenshin blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Kenshin no baka," Kenji repeated, nodding his head once more for emphasis. "That's what she liked to call you a lot."

_What kind of woman do I marry? _Poor Kenshin thought as his eyes glazed over, imagining some kind of amazon woman with a mean right hook and one who called him 'baka'.

Kenji pounded his hand on Kenshin's back, snapping the latter out of his stupor. "She's just kidding you know… but… you really are a baka sometimes. She probably calls you 'koiishi' as well, not that I should know because I really don't spend time imagining what my parents do together." Kenji made a disgusted face and shuddered. "That's one mental picture I don't need, you know?" Not giving Kenshin the chance to reply, he turned around and headed downstairs. "Let's go!"

Today they decided to train in the neighboring forest, and Kenji could hardly wait.

**……**

Later that day, exhausted from their sparring, the older Himura called a halt to their practice. "You're getting better."

"…"

"Not that you were bad in the first place, just a bit unpolished in my opinion. Maybe it's because you haven't had the chance to finish your training yet. Either way, you're not too bad with a sword, I can see how you became the legend that you were."

In the Battoussai's opinion, Kenji-chan loved hearing himself speak.

If it was because of the fact that he loved to hear his own voice a lot, or maybe the fact that the poor hitokiri could hardly get a word in because of Kenji's never-ending well of words, our future rurouni couldn't tell. It was all often a blur to him.

Kenji often carried one-sided conversations, or didn't even give the Battoussai a chance to speak most of the time. Not that Kenshin was complaining, because he wasn't. In fact, he found the one-sided conversations very interesting and insightful.

Young Kenji didn't disappoint him today either.

"Do you think if I give myself a scar on the cheek as well and start acting like you, that is, speaking and smiling less, being less friendly to others, glaring at them a lot, tying my topknot a little tighter… I could pass up as you?"

"Why would you want to do that, Kenji-chan?"

"Oh, I don't know… for kicks maybe? I know I'm slightly taller than you… and you are skinnier than me," Kenji regarded Kenshin's small frame quietly, making the young hitokiri a bit uncomfortable at having his son point it out blatantly like that. "But most people who don't know us would probably have a hard time telling us apart if we acted and dressed alike."

The poor hitokiri could only lift his shoulders in confusion.

The pair found a nice fallen tree trunk to use as a bench. Propping their respective swords on the side of the trunk, they sat down, easing their strained muscles.

Kenshin liked training with Kenji. Believe it or not, he could actually feel himself improve, although he will never admit it to the already self-assured look-alike.

"Aren't you just a tiny bit bored, Sessha?" said Kenji who couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes.

One would think that they could at least sit in silence after a hard day's practice, but… 

"Sessha?" Kenji broke the silence impatiently, daring to poke Kenshin in the shoulder, shaking him out of his silent musings.

The Battoussai was now also used to his son's dry sense of humor, but he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why the teen insisted on calling him 'Sessha'. He was starting to miss being called plain "Kenshin" instead of "Sessha". During the time spent with Kenji, the Battoussai learned a lot about patience, humility, understanding, and he was also getting used to the way Kenji-chan spoke. The boy seemed to have invented some new form of grammar and a language of his own.

Since Kenji seemed to be waiting for a response from Kenshin, he shrugged.

"I figured just as much," Kenji said knowledgeably, nodding. "It must feel nice, taking a break from being a hitokiri and all, but remember not to let your skills slide. Don't forget to practice so you never get rusty."

Kenshin could only nod again as Kenji continued to impart more seeds of wisdom. Nodding and shrugging have become constants in the young hitokiri's life.

A full minute of silence passed before it was broken again.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Kenji said.

The Battoussai, used to his son's short attention span and ability to switch from one topic to another within the blink of an eye, nodded once more. One thing was starting to bother him though. "Do you think you'll ever get back in your own time, Kenji-chan?"

"I don't know, have no idea and don't know how." He said as he counted them off of his fingers. "I may be stuck here, but who knows, you know?"

"It's not so bad to be stuck here, is it?"

"No, I actually like it, despite the war going on. I… I still have living relatives in this time. I don't feel so… alone." He confessed.

Once again, those familiar stirrings of what he can only identify as guilt started making its way into the Battoussai's heart. _Kenji is alone in his own time because of me…_

"So what are you going to do if and when I do have to return to my own time, Sessha?" Despite the joking tone, both of them could tell the gravity of the situation.

Kenshin was thinking of how he enjoyed his future son's company a lot; Of how his son seemed to act like a whirlwind of confusion most of the time, with his constant chatter, distracting Kenshin from the horrors of the current situation.

Kenji was thinking of how his view of his father was changing. He actually enjoyed Kenshin's company, even if the other redhead was often quiet and just content on listening. So far, this was the longest time he has ever spent with his father.

Both of them were sure that they were going to miss each other if the time came that Kenji had to return to his own time.

"Well I'm sure you'll do fine, even without me, Kenshin." Kenji said sincerely, a serious look on his face. "And you know that saying… If you love something, set it free…" Kenshin face flushed in embarrassment and Kenji laughed. "Unless it's something like a man-eating tiger or something that wouldn't be doing anybody any favors."

The Battoussai couldn't help but admire the young man's ability to try to make light of each situation, no matter how bleak they looked. "You might not be able to return to your own time, Kenji-chan."

"Well, who's to say that I won't? Don't worry Kenshin, you'll do fine," he repeated. "Just… just promise me one thing okay?"

"What is it?"

"Make sure you're in the streets of Tokyo in the summer of the 11th year of the Meiji… which means that you have to help usher in the new era, no matter what."

Violet eyes met purple as the young hitokiri battoussai nodded his head in a solemn promise.

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**Utter non-sense:** Oro, does anybody else think that they could've done some sort of spin-off using Kenji or even Sojiro? O.o 

I would also like to apologize in advance if I don't get to update as fast as the first four days… one of my friends started talking Fushigi Yuugi to me and it broke my Kenshin concentration. lol :throws stone at Yui: gr!

**Lame excuses: **I know they're lame, but I blame television if I don't get to update as much… I really do have to watch Stargate SG1 on Mondays; Gilmore Girls on Tuesdays; Smallville on Wednesdays; Joey and then The Apprentice on Thursdays; SG1, Atlantis, the normal cartoon lineup on Fridays; normal cartoon lineup on Saturdays; and then Zoe 101 plus shows like Charmed, The Surreal Life and lots of reruns on Sundays. :P


	14. It's all relative

**I own Kenshin. (Sure you do) I really do! (I believe ya!) No, really:P**

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**scythe195: **AAAAAAARGH:tears hair in frustration:Thanks for telling me. I was actually debating whether to say 10th or 11th year of the Meiji… I settled with 10th because I went with Hiko's convo with Kenshin, Kaoru, Misao and Yahiko… but then in the Firefly episode, it says 11th year of the Meiji… :tears hair in frustration:rants:raves: ROFL :takes deep breaths: Okay, I'm cool, I fixed it. :o) And be thankful I'm not hooked on Idol anymore. :P Ah, I do miss Simon… but I think its time schedule clashes with Gilmore Girls… and … Oro, don't get me started! ROFL and I guess it's a good thing that Friends ended… and I don't like Wil and Grace as much anymore… I just LISTEN to it because it's between Joey and The Apprentice. :P

**NightOwl123: **hehe, actually Fushigi Yuugi is my #2 most favorite animé, second only to Kenshin. :P My friend started discussing it with me today, and I got into the whole Shinzaho in the second OAV argument again, oro! And KYAAAAA! I googled for Peacemaker (Have to google for it some more but I've seen enough to want it… bad!) :drools: I heart Okita and Saitou. I wish Okita was in RK as well. :sniff: Hehe, I think you've given me a new obsession. Fanks! WOOOHOOO:does a happy dance: And I will check the stories you have on your fave list! Mwahaha! I'm trying to limit my time on the PC to writing and uploading this fic for the meantime… My obsessions range from Kenshin to Fushigi to Harry Potter. :spasms: Book 6 will be out in July! I can't hardly wait:spasm: See, not good for my health right there. I once went through a phase where I had to watch a Harry Potter movie at least once a day… then it switched into Fushigi before going to Kenshin… then to Ranma… and then Kenshin again… it's a never-ending cycle I tell ya:thoughts drift to Okita again: I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I find myself semi-obsessed and :hearting: a character which only has a teenie tiny amount of screen play in a series I drool over so much. O.o

**Lolo popoki: **Fanks:D The line from Vanilla Sky was "I'll tell you in another lifetime, when we are both cats". :P I tend to recall at least one line from movies/books/shows/stuff I like. lol Somehow though, it looked better when Penelope Cruz was saying it to Tom Cruise. O.o Vanilla Sky is a weird flick with a weirder twist at the end, but I still watched it because of Tom Cruise! Mwahaha:coughs in embarrassment: I've never heard of the Peacemaker. :is frantic now: I wanna seeeeeeeeeeee that animé! I'm not much for mangas though. O.o Heh, about the top battle, I actually dreamt about that last night. ROFL I absolutely had no idea what to write the night before that, so I went to bed, I didn't actually think I could update that day, but I had an RK dream. :sighs dreamily: Oro… tis not good ne? When your dreams are animated? ROFL

You and NightOwl are evil, eeeeeeeeeeeeevil people! ROFL I predict a new obsession for moi, that I do. :nod: if it's bloody, I'll just do what I did during most of the Kyoto arc and close my eyes or hide behind my fingers until the blood and gore go away. :P :has Shishio biting Kenshin flashbacks: GROSS! Bleugh. :nutkicks Shishio:

**Hitokiri Yumemi: **I shall try to do one chapter a day, IF I can. Heh, not promising though, but I shall try very hard. :o) I'm very impatient, that's why I'm squeezing my tiny brain out trying to post chapter after chapter. lol!

**Lily of the Shadow: **Tuesday means Gilmore Girls time:runs around the room squealing in delight:

**Bailyy: **Thanks:D

**SereneC: **:cough: How come you somehow always know what I'm writing next? LOL! I love Kaoru, I'll have chibi her meet Kenshin and Kenji soon. ;)

**K&K LOVER: **Oro! I'm wondering that myself… but I think I'd have to finish this fic first and try to tie the loose ends up first before I get to that part… that's… more than 10 years from 'now'. :D

**Pnaixrose: "**Samonosuke" was from that Marimo the Human Bullet episode where Kenshin, Kaoru and Sano had to entertain the audience to give Yahiko and Marimo time to get gun powder for Marimo's circus act. We see the Secret Hiten Mitsurugi Style Umbrella Techniques: Ball Drop, Umbrella Drop, Boar Dodge… hahaha "Are you sure you don't want to draw your sword?" Kenshin: "The umbrella is fine, thanks." LMAO That still cracks me up. lol I HEART TV:P ack! Gilmore Girls! Luke and Lorelai forever! WOOT! GR! I hate Chris now, why'd he have to break Lorelai and Luke up. :sniff:heart is breaking: Rory and Logan also look sOOOOOOOO cute together, yay they're finally hooking up! I love the Simpsons too! ROFL, what you listed is my normal TV lineup as well. Tis hard, I had to miss The Simpsons the last week, since they're just replays… but then I keep missing the new episodes on Sundays. Arg! Oh, and Malcolm in the Middle:P heh, I'm glad you type more than "great job" in the reviews for THIS fic. :P

**PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS: **Should I expect any death threats and start getting fake passports if I perhaps… say… maybe… possibly… kill future Kenji in this fic:scratches back of her head while preparing to change her identity: Not that I WANT TO, but I feel like the fic is missing something. :ponders: Any suggestions:D

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**- CHAPTER 13 -**

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All good things must come to an end.

Nothing in life is constant except change itself.

No one can remain happy forever.

I'd list more pearls of wisdom here but that's all I've got and well… you get the drift…

The fragile peaceful life that Kenji and Kenshin were beginning to build is shattered as the Kohagi Inn burned to the ground.

Since it is no longer safe for the Ishin Shishi to stay in Kyoto, Kogoro Katsura tells Kenshin that he had prepared a small countryside cottage for him in Otsu.

"_My dreams, my plans… all burned to ashes tonight." Katsura said heavily. "You can take Kamiya-san with you, Himura-san. I'll send word to you once things settle down and your services are needed once more. For now, we need to regroup. Good luck." _

They packed what little belongings they had, their trusty sakabatou and katana, and walked away from the ashes that was the Kohagi Inn, never looking back.

The Battoussai was concerned about not drawing attention to themselves while hiding out in Otsu. Considering that they were two teenagers with red hair, carrying swords and striking features, he was trying to formulate plans and backup plans if the enemy ever tracked them down and decided to attack.

His main concern was not for himself, but for his future son. He was confident enough in his abilities, and also confident in Kenji-chan's swordskill, but he kept feeling a sense of foreboding that wouldn't go away.

The feared hitokiri, Battoussai the Manslayer, skilled assassin and said to be the strongest of the Imperialists - was turning into a worrywart.

Kenji, however, had other plans.

He didn't think that the Ishin Shishi would be able to regroup for several months at least, maybe even half a year or more, given the conditions. With that in mind, he figured that they didn't need to be cooped up in some cottage in a hill playing house until someone came to fetch them like the good Imperialist assassin and bodyguard that they were. He already had his share of being stranded in one place like a pet dog. His adventurous spirit was kicking in. He wanted to learn things he never knew. He wanted to hear the cry of the wolf to the blue corn moon. He wanted to paint with all the colors of the wind.

………

Okay, well, maybe but not really.

He wanted to stop by Tokyo and catch a glimpse of his mother.

Kenshin, who was curious to see the woman who was going to be his future wife, didn't offer much of a fight as he too tried to justify their quick pit stop.

When Kenji realized that Kenshin was agreeing to his suggestion, he dragged the poor hitokiri down the Tokaido path into Tokyo faster than you can say Shukuchi.

**……**

"Are you sure about this, Kenji-chan?" Kenshin asked the teenager for the third time in the past ten minutes. He was starting to have cold feet as they stared at the sign that read "Kamiya Dojo".

The duo managed to reach Tokyo in two days, and was now standing just outside the dojo door.

For Kenshin, deciding to go and the actual trip itself were actually easier than the part where he had to face whoever lived in this imposing dojo. He would never admit to feeling the slightest bit intimidated though. Just because the dojo looked very reputable didn't make a skilled assassin like him, one who has taken lots of lives and will continue to take more lives in the upcoming revolution, feel two feet shorter.

"Of course I'm sure! I can't wait to see her!" Cackled Kenji gleefully, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He had an unidentifiable look on his face that almost bordered on evil.

"We're not tampering with the normal course of history by doing this, are we?" Said the hitokiri again who was having a massive attack of jitters despite his curiosity.

Kenji scoffed. "You're talking about tampering with time with **me**?" He asked, pointing a finger at himself. "I think I've done enough damage that my own time's going to be practically unrecognizable if I ever do get the chance to go back." He paused and peered into Kenshin's violet orbs suspiciously. "You're not having second thoughts, are you? You agreed and it's too late to take it back now!" Leaning closer to his father's face, he tried to find some sort of emotion that would reveal the Battoussai's true emotions.

"I'm not!" Kenshin said quickly and backed away a few feet, a little too defensively in Kenji's opinion. "I'm just concerned about how this will affect the future, that's all." Kenshin thought that Tokyo was extremely hot this season but restrained himself from picking up the front of his gi and fanning himself with it. Kenji might think he was sweating profusely because he was nervous or something… and he wasn't nervous of course. No, he wasn't nervous about meeting his future wife and future mother of his son at all, the young hitokiri repeated the sentence over and over again in his head.

Looking at Kenji didn't give him a lot of insight as to how the woman looked since he looks exactly like his father, but surely she wasn't ugly to look at, was she? Even if she wielded a sword and seemed to be somewhat dominating didn't mean that she was ugly, did it? Kenji even commented more than once about how his mother was considered the 'Flower of Kendou' in her time, so that meant that she was at least cute-looking or at the least bit passable, right? _Right!_

"Riiiiight," came the sarcastic reply. "And you're sweating abundantly in what's possibly one of the coolest days of the summer because..?"

The Battoussai thought that changing topics would be the best course of action for him in this conversation. "Should we knock or just open the door?"

Before either of them could decide on what to do, the door to the dojo opened by itself and various students of different sizes and ages started walking out.

"Be careful on your way home and don't be late for tomorrow's class!" Koshijiro Kamiya told his students authoritatively as they filed past him.

"Yes, Kamiya-sensei!" The students replied as they continued their trek out of the dojo doors.

"_Grandfather…_" Kenji quietly whispered in amazement as if he was in a holy shrine and had to observe silence. He looked totally in awe of the man Kenshin had identified as the master of the school.

_This must be Kenji's mother's father. _Kenshin safely concluded. For the first time since he's known the kid, he was actually quiet and even looked kind of speechless. The Battoussai tried not to feel insulted when he observed that his son looked more … _impressed _… right now, meeting this 'Kamiya-sensei' than the time when they first met back in the dark streets of Kyoto. He chalked it up to the dimly lit streets and he excused himself by saying that he wasn't really paying much attention to the kid's face that night either. _Surely he doesn't prefer his grandfather over his own father, does he? _

Noting the man's wooden sword on the side of his hip, the young hitokiri sized up the man's samurai spirit and felt confident that he could take the man on and win. He immediately felt better, knowing that Kenji would surely favor **him **over this guy, even if the guy was his grandfather.

As the last of the students exited the dojo, Koshijiro noticed the two redheads outside of his home. "Can I help you?" He asked and looked at what appeared to be the older of the two. "You look familiar boy, have we met before?" Koshijiro asked as he scrutinized Kenji. The man looked at him, up and down, but Kenji didn't seem the least bit disturbed. One had to admire the self-esteem he possessed.

Kenji shook his head. "Not that I recall sir. We're just a couple of wanderers, that's all."

"And your names are?"

Kenji bowed. "I am Kenji Himura and this is my little brother, Kenshin Himura."

Kenshin almost choked, but he coughed into his hand instead. _Little brother indeed! _He bowed at Koshijiro.

Koshijiro regarded the older redhead and what looked like his sickly little brother quietly before he spoke. "So what business do you have here? Why are you at my dojo?"

Thinking quick on his feet Kenji blurted out, "We heard of your revitalizing technique all the way from Kyoto and became curious, Kamiya-san."

"Really now."

"As you can see, we are aspiring swordsmen," he pointed at the swords that each of them sported, tucked into their belts. "Would you consider taking in a couple of temporary borders, sir? We would like to observe your Kamiya Kasshin Style of Swordsmanship, if you would allow it."

Kenshin's eyes bugged out at Kenji's last statement. _What was he playing at! We couldn't stay here long enough to learn the man's sword style!_ He tried to catch the older redhead's eyes but Kenji seemed to be ignoring him.

"I don't know if you've noticed, young man, but this is a **DOJO**, not an INN." Koshijiro said.

"Surely you could spare a room or two for your fellow samurai, can you not? My brother is really good in doing the laundry and he's also a decent cook."

_I am?_ The Battoussai thought dizzily.

"In exchange for staying here, we would like to help in the chores and promise not to get in the way of your training. We merely want to observe your teachings and perhaps add to our skill." Kenji looked at Koshijiro with innocent-looking, pleading, wide purple eyes. Even the ruthless hitokiri could feel himself fall prey into Kenji's pleading, so it wasn't any wonder that Koshijiro succumbed to it as well.

"We do have extra rooms at the dojo," Koshijiro said thoughtfully. "My wife passed away a few years back and I live only with my daughter, Kaoru." He told them, but he couldn't figure out why exactly he felt like he could trust the older redhead, feeling some kind of kinship to him even. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself formally yet. Koshijiro Kamiya, Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Style of fighting, it's a pleasure meeting you."

He stepped aside and invited the two Himuras in.

Kenji took in a deep breath of air, feeling a bit giddy from happiness. _I'm home! _He surveyed the familiar surroundings of the Kamiya Dojo, one that he knew every nook and cranny of by heart.

Kenshin was trying not to act so suspicious as he searched the said dojo for a teenage girl, his future wife.

"That's the dojo right there, where we take our lessons." Koshijiro was saying as he was giving his new guests a tour of the grounds. "The kitchen is here, we do the laundry right there," he said, pointing to the spot near the well. "The bath house is right there, we also have a small garden where we grow some vegetables. Right here is where the bedrooms are, you and your brother can choose whichever rooms you would like to take, my daughter's bedroom is…" He paused as something from above them jumped and attacked.

"Hiya!" Shouted a shrill little voice, interrupting their tour.

A bokken hit Kenshin squarely on the head as he made to catch the form that came along with it, preventing it from crashing into his own. He stared at the bokken stupidly for a minute until he turned his attention to the child he was holding in his arms. He noticed the tiny hand that was holding the bokken, traced a path along the tiny hand to a matching tiny shoulder and then looked into the cutest little innocent blue eyes that he ever laid his eyes on. Ebony locks framed the delicate porcelain face which looked really soft and supple.

_Aw, she's so adorable!_ She was the cutest little girl the young hitokiri had ever laid his eyes on.

"And that…" Koshijiro said, almost apologetically, "is my daughter Kaoru. Kaoru, these men will be our guests for the time being so you be a good girl and try not to attack them with your beloved bokken, okay?"

Little Kaoru giggled in the redheaded samurai's arms. "Yes daddy."

Kenshin almost dropped the little girl. Unless Koshijiro had another daughter somewhere, which he knew for a fact that he didn't because Kenji had told him that his mother had been an only child, this **_little girl_** he was holding in his arms was going to be his future wife!

_Oro!_

**THE END.**

**……**

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Hahahaha just kidding! ROFLROFL 

Aw! Kenshin and Kaoru finally meet :squeals: Think it was love at first sight for Kenshin despite Kaoru's teenie tiny? hehehe

**Disney flashback: **haha, Colors of the Wind has always been one of my favorite Disney songs together with Kiss the Girl from the Little Mermaid. :P Speaking of songs… Somewhere Only We Know… Keane:swoons:

Hehe, by Kenji calling Kenshin "Sessha" don't you think that HE caused Kenshin to do all the "Sessha"-ing in the future of this fic:P

ORO! Okay, I'm feeling really pressured because of my promise to update at least once a day. LOL PLEASE forgive me if I don't update as much as I usually do during the next few days… Wednesdays especially because I like watching Smallville, and I still watch the Smallville reruns on ABC Family. :P


	15. Picture Perfect

**Marstanuki:** Mou! Sorry, I get confused with the reviews… :D

**:gasps: Scented Candles! OMG! **I heart your Back Home to You and especially your Only With You fics! I DEMAND that you update those fics as soon as possible as well! ROFL

**shadow-sorceress: **I was thinking of that too… I don't know yet, I don't think I can get rid of Kenji though, I'm not that heartless. Heh, but then if Kenji does die, Kenshin would have to just make sure THIS Kenji doesn't have to make the graveyard wish, ne? Like in Charmed where future Chris dies to save past Wyatt… or SG Atlantis where past Dr. Were dies in order to save future Dr. Were and the Atlantis group. :o) We'll see. ;)

**RoseoftheDesert: **Yay! You watch SG Atlantis:D

**Celest4: **I really don't know when Kaoru's mom died so I made it up along the way. Ehehehehe…

**scythe195: **Even if I WANTED to I don't think I can. :sniff: I heart Kenji, don't you:o)

**November's Ash: **ACK! I HEART you! That's what exactly I was going for! ROFL he didn't exactly say "ORO" out loud, but he thought it! The Battoussai's turning into our beloved rurouni without him even realizing it. ;)

**K&K LOVER: **Aw! I'm glad you liked the chapter. I thought it was kind of rushed because it was Tuesday… and I had my shows to watch. :D

**Hitokiri Yumemi: **lol! I didn't say you did, I just kind of said that several chapters ago and included you in the list of people whom I said I would. :D

**Lolo popoki: **Yes, NightOwl started it… and is talking about it again! And yes, animé is so expensive… I'd have to wait for the weekend or a birthday or something. Kyaa:so envious: I want it:D I'll try to do an update whenever I can, pace myself. O.o (yeah right) Actually, I'm impatient so I try to squeeze in as much time writing as I can. Which means carrying my laptop around and opening Word every chance I get. ROFL yes, people think I'm probably doing something very important or am online on that thing but I'm actually not. :P You know, I haven't done anything else online except upload this fic. :P not even check emails which is so sad. :P I've been… obsessed. :P

**Night-Owl123: **I do not like Harry Potter.I LOVE Harry Potter:drools: I hate hate hate it now that JKR killed Sirius. :sniff: But I can't wait how Harry turns out… will he survive after he defeats Voldie? That's my main concern. I'm expecting something like Voldie being made into a muggle at the end of book 7 and thus lifting the 'curse' on Harry and erasing his scar… aw… doesn't that sound so much like Kenshin:D and… I hate you for watching Peacemaker! I can't watch it yet:sniff: ROFL The dubbed voices are often awful. Although, I'd have to say that I much prefer Kenshin's english voice to his Japanese one when I found out that the voice actor for Kenshin in Japanese is actually an actRESS. :P Misao's though… and Aoshi's! And OMG, Sojiro's during a couple of episodes… they were just AWFUL!

**Pnaixrose: **:D I'd be spooked too… maybe that's why Kenshin waits so long to marry Kaoru ne? Just so Kenji's birth will be in time:P :sniff: Lion King was sad. Poor Simba. :o( I like Yahiko and Tsubame better together too. Marimo's just a filler episode character while Tsubame is a supporting character. Mwahaha! Hehe, first episode, Kaoru hails Kenshin in the middle of the street and charges toward him, so Kenshin 'flies' on top of a nearby roof, but it doesn't hold his weight so he falls into a cart below orororororo-ing. :laughs at Kenshin: That was so cute:squeals:

**Lily of the Shadow: **It's from Pocahontas' Colors of the Wind. ROFL I heart that song:D I'm glad you liked it. I read the chapter AFTER I watched Gilmore Girls :tries to cover embarrassment by coughing: and I thought it was lacking. :scratches head:

Thanks to **Alex92, x mz imperfect x, Saku-Yume & Symbolica Desire (as usual)**for reviewing!** :o) **

**De Lazy Lime: **I do realize that "sessha" technically means "I" or "this unworthy one", but I thought it'd be funnier that way since Kenshin refers to himself as "sessha" in the future.

**To that one ANONYMOUS reviewer: **Do you mean that 1960's episode about the past General Hammond:o) I think… that this fic is a little of both. Kenji goes back to the past and changes it, but then he also causes his father's past to 'happen'. All the "oro", "-dono" and "de gozaru"-ing Kenshin's gonna do in the future… kind of like that episode set several years into the future of Stargate where SG1 met a race who decided to wipe out the entire human race slowly by sterilizing everybody. :nod: I didn't know there were TWO types of time travel. I don't know if I believe that, since I'm more for the 'endless possibilities' thing, like that quantum mirror Daniel found in one of the planets that allowed him to travel into a different reality where the Guauld (sp?) destroyed Earth… and also allowed alternate Sam and alternate Kolowsky (sp?) to travel to OUR SG1 reality.

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**- CHAPTER 14 -**

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Kenshin Himura, the Hitokiri Battoussai of the revolution, strongest of the Imperialists, formerly known as Shinta, son of a poor farmer turned slave before he became the 14th apprentice of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, can also now add "Cradle Robber" to his list of aliases.

Kenji-chan had conveniently failed to tell him, when he oh-so-wonderfully shared intimate details about the future with him, that his beloved mother was a mere baby when Kenshin was assassinating men twice his age! _How can the boy tell me about specific and sometimes even trivial details but not the fact that I would become a pedophile in the future? _

_Okay, so maybe she's not really a **baby** baby…_

_But she was a mere child! She is so young! _

The words 'robbing the cradle' were never far from his mind as he tagged along with Koshijiro and Kenji, with little Kaoru in tow.

"My little Kaoru has always been interested in the Kasshin Style," boasted Koshijiro as he showed them to their room. "She's taken up a bokken since she can hardly walk!"

Kenji nodded in agreement, seemingly sharing the pride Koshijiro had in his beloved daughter's skills at such a young age. The two looked like two proud papa bears as Koshijiro explained the finer points of the Kamiya Kasshin Style to the two swordsmen, and Kenji hung on to his every word.

The Battoussai could hardly maintain his composure, his hand itching to reach for his katana and hack his good-for-nothing son to pieces before he beat him into a bloody pulp. _I mean, sure she's cute and all, but she's just a mere baby! Way too young for me now and probably way younger than me in the future! _Kenshin silently fumed as he was stuck baby-sitting his young future wife. He couldn't believe his fate. _If Kenji-chan knew that I was going to rob the cradle, he could've at least warned me. _He figured it'd take him more than 10 years to get over this fact.

_Would it really have changed anything? _Asked a calm, reasonable voice inside his head. _**This** is inevitable. Resistance is futile._

I refuse to accept the fact that I'm going to resort to taking advantage of young women in the future. I have committed enough sins to land me in Hell already.

_But she's so cute and she's going to grow up someday. No one's telling you to marry her right now._

_She's a mere baby!_

_But a cute baby!_

_But a baby still!_

_She's going to grow up into a beautiful woman someday, just look at her!_

_Wait… isn't my rurouni side supposed to show itself years from now? What are you doing inside my head right now?_

There was a pointed silence, no more voices arguing inside his head for few seconds before that voice replied, almost as if it was embarrassed. _Point taken, see you in a few years then, Battoussai!_

Despite the voice's "leaving" him alone though, he followed its advice and dared to steal a quick look at the little girl who was walking beside him. _Aw, she **is **cute! Especially with her little bokken, which she used to attack me with just a couple of minutes ago… _At least he wasn't worried about some ugly, mystery sword-wielding amazon woman anymore.

**……**

Her trusty bokken still in hand, little Kaoru was extremely fascinated by the new visitors to the Kamiya Dojo. They both had pretty red hair, swords on their belts, and they almost even looked alike. In her opinion though, even though the one with an easy smile on his face and softer eyes seemed friendlier, she was more intrigued by the red one with the scar on his face. The nice man even caught her even after she hit him with her bokken earlier, and made sure to set her down gently back on the floor afterwards. Little fingers itched to touch the diagonal wound and she wondered if it still hurt, that scar.

She sustained cuts and bruises before as well, while working in the kitchen, that's why she dared only venture into that realm when absolutely necessary – like in times when she was absolutely famished and there was no one else to cook – so she was very sure that the red-haired man felt pain when he got that booboo on his pretty face.

_Father said that they were visitors, so that meant that they were good people._ She was supposed to help good people, because that was what father shouted at the dojo everyday to his students. She didn't quite grasp the whole concept of the 'teachings' just yet, and she not only wanted to help the pretty man if he was in pain, but she was intrigued as well. In her little mind, she figured there was only one way to satisfy her curiosity. She tugged on the pretty man's pantleg to gain his attention.

The Battoussai turned his eyes to look at the cute little girl, wondering why she was tugging on his hakama. "Up!" She demanded, holding up her hands in an obvious command, digits closing and opening in impatience.

Reluctantly, the young hitokiri picked the little girl up and settled her tiny legs around his waist, steadying her with his hand against his frame. Purple met a pair of unwavering azure eyes. She leaned closer until their heads were almost touching, and then whispered quietly, almost as if she wanted to keep the question a secret between the two of them, leaving the two proud papa bears out of it. "Does it hurt?"

He was confused with the question. _Did she mean her bokken squarely connecting with his head?_ "Does what hurt, Kaoru…" He didn't know why but the word seemed to be attached to the name, "…dono?"

Little Kaoru giggled at the honorific and reached up a petite finger to trace the diagonal scar on his face gently. "Your booboo."

He couldn't figure out why, but the Battoussai's heart felt like a warm, gentle hand just caressed it. "Not anymore," he shook his head as he told the little girl solemnly and gifted the child with a rare, genuine smile.

Little Kaoru smiled back and him and showed him her compassion by putting her gentle little arms around his neck and squeezing the air out of him. In spite of the fact that Kaoru was just an innocent little girl who only probably meant to comfort him for his 'booboo', Himura the Battoussai couldn't keep himself from blushing at her show of affection.

"Aw, will you look at that? My little Kaoru's found herself a new friend!" Exclaimed Koshijiro. "She's the friendliest little girl on the block, too." He boasted to Kenji, who again, nodded in total agreement.

Kenshin thought that in Kenji's eyes, his mother could probably do no wrong. He was also starting to see where his son had gotten his ego. _And here I thought it was Hiko-sama's influence…_

"She also looks like she's going to grow into a very beautiful woman someday, Kamiya-sensei," said Kenji.

Koshijiro's chest puffed out in pride at the words voice, deeming them to be true. "Her mother was a beauty as well," he confided, and both of them laughed a conceited laugh, causing our young hitokiri to sweat drop and little Kaoru to wonder what her beloved esteemed father and his new friend found highly entertaining.

"I guess it runs in the family, ne?"

The Battoussai thought that if he continued to shake his head some more, it was going to fall off of his neck.

……

Kenji had generously offered to have Kenshin cook them dinner tonight after they finished the tour of the dojo. Thankfully, they didn't have to go into town to buy any ingredients, as the dojo's pantry was stocked, but regrettably, the Battoussai wasn't so sure about his cooking skills as his son pretending to be his older brother seemed to be.

For all his superb skills as an assassin, he had absolutely no idea of how to cook, much less **clean** a fish. He was a manslayer, not a chef!

Kenji-chan didn't even give him the chance to get in a word of protest though. Not that he would have protested in front of an honorable man like Koshijiro, a man who trustingly took strangers into his home and offered them a roof to stay in, not to mention the honorable father of his future wife, but the Battoussai was still a little more than vexed.

His redhead look-alike wasn't here to incur his wrath though, not that he could actually picture himself being mad at Kenji-chan, but he could dream, can't he?

The real culprit was nowhere near the vicinity, so he turned his vengeance on the poor fish instead.

_My list of accomplishments slash and or aliases just got longer…_

Manslayer and fish regarded each other seriously, in their pre-determined battlefield that was the Kamiya Dojo's kitchen, before the former picked up a knife and sealed the cold-blooded aquatic vertebrate's fate.

_Gutting and scaling fish isn't that hard after all…_

After making sure that the fish was cleaned up, he stuffed it with a couple of garlic cloves, chopped onion, several pieces of tomatoes, rubbed it with salt, sprinkled an herb or two, and then added just a dash of pepper before he placed it over the fire to cook.

Delicious aromas drifted from the kitchen an hour later as Kenshin emerged with his masterpiece and presented it to his hungry audience.

"Itadakimatsu!"

"You're right Himura-san, your little brother is a good cook!" Koshijiro Kamiya praised as he reached for more fish to go with his rice. "You say he does laundry as well?"

"Yes, Kamiya-sensei. I'm sure that Kenshin will be happy to do your laundry first thing tomorrow morning."

What do I have to do to get respect around here? First I'm reduced to a cook, now I'm expected to do the freaking laundry as well? 

"Is that right, Kenshin?"

"Yes of course, Kamiya-sensei," he heard himself speak.

"He's so helpful isn't he?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"Can we keep him, Papa?"

Kenshin choked on his riceball as Kenji guffawed into his miso soup. "Now, now my Princess, he's not a pet. You can't keep him, but you can be his friend."

Little Kaoru pouted, but resumed eating her meal.

When they were done with dinner, they cleared away the plates and gathered to watch the sunset at the dojo's steps.

"So how long exactly are planning on staying here, Himura-san?" asked Koshijiro of Kenji, breaking the silence.

_Yes, how long? _Kenshin, who was still holding a now sleepy-looking Kaoru, turned his eyes inquisitively at Kenji as well. _I hope he doesn't plan on staying here forever. There's a war still going on and Katsuran-san told us to wait for his word in Otsu. If we linger here for a long time and the messenger reaches that cottage reserved for us, they might think we were dead or went into hiding without informing them… or worse, they might think we deserted them… _He shuddered at the thought, he didn't want to be labeled a deserter.

Kenji had an unmistakable amount of regret in his purple eyes as he answered his unknowing grandfather. "Not long, I'm afraid." He looked at little Kaoru who was now starting to doze off, comfortable in Kenshin's arms. "My brother and I wish to join the civil wars, it's our duty as samurai. The longest we can stay is probably two weeks, which I hope doesn't impose on you too much, Kamiya-sensei."

_Two weeks? _Questioned Kenshin silently. _I guess that's not bad..._

"Two weeks?" Echoed Koshijiro. "That's hardly enough time to learn the Kasshin Style, isn't it?"

"We're fast learners, sensei."

"And we are only here to **observe**, remember?" The Battoussai addressed the Kasshin Master for the first time since they've met. Kenshin looked Kenji in the eyes, almost as if daring him to say that they were going to stay longer or wait until they learned the art before they had to leave. Koshijiro seemed pacified by the explanation and decided not to pursue the matter any further.

"War is ugly. It brings us nothing but death and destruction." Both Kenji and Kenshin were deathly quiet. "But I have to say that I respect and admire the men who take up their sword and fight for their causes. If I were called to fight this war myself, or if my Kaoru was old enough to care for herself, I would volunteer as well…" He looked at his daughter lovingly. "But she's too young, and she has just lost her mother. Right now, I'll just leave the fighting to youngins like you. But maybe someday my time will come, ne?"

_Oh if you only knew…_ Kenji thought painfully. 

"Well now, the both of you must be very tired from your journey, I best leave you alone so you can get some rest." He gently pried little Kaoru away from Kenshin's arms and bid them goodnight as he went to tuck his daughter into bed.

"Your grandfather seems like a very good man, Kenji-chan."

"That he is, Kenshin." He stood up and patted the seat of his hakama. "Well, we better make good use of that bathhouse, ne Kenshin? Might as well get a good night's rest tonight as well, if you're going to be tackling the laundry tomorrow."

Kenshin growled. "I don't understand why you kept volunteering me to do things, Kenji-chan."

"We have to earn our keep somehow."

"And what about you?"

"I'll think of something. Besides, would you really let your only son to do a menial task such as the laundry? Have a heart, Kenshin."

"So it's okay for your dear father to do menial laundry?"

"It's an accepted norm for the bridegroom to live with the bride's family to offer his labor for a certain period of time."

Kenshin sputtered in protest. "But I'm not here to…"

"Well, consider it practice then, Kenshin. And besides, you might find it even … enjoyable someday." The Battoussai seriously doubted that, but Kenji-chan had already gone off to have a nice bath before he went to bed so the Battoussai was left alone.

**……**

Later that night, the Kamiya Dojo's occupants were in their rooms, some sleeping and some…

"Do you think this is wise, Kenji-chan?" He asked for the last time today.

"Don't worry Kenshin, we're not tampering with anything in the future, and it's not like we're doing anything out of the ordinary. I think in some other language the words "Kamiya Dojo" stands for "Free for all Dojo". It seems to be a magnet for free-loaders in the future, so we're just two more wandering free-loaders to add to the never-ending list of Kamiya charities." The two of them were sharing a room. With their meager possessions in the corner, Kenji was sleeping on his futon in the middle of the room. "Aren't you going to unroll your futon?" He asked his father who was sitting with his back against a wall, his trusty katana by his side and his knee raised. Kenji knew that position well, since he preferred it as well, but not when sleeping.

"I prefer to sleep like this, Kenji-chan."

"Doesn't your back hurt? How can you sleep like that?"

"Laying down makes me feel very vulnerable. An enemy could attack and slay you in your sleep easily."

"But there are no enemies here."

The Battoussai sighed. "It's hard to break a habit that's been with me for years. Just go to sleep, Kenji-chan."

Kenji frowned at this but didn't force the issue.

"And I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yes?"

"How come you didn't tell me your mother was so young?"

Kenji's frown deepened. "You're young, too. If you didn't notice, I'm older than both my parents at this time."

"That's not what I meant." Kenshin cleared his throat. "What I meant was that… she's just a baby and I am… old."

Kenji sighed, exasperated. "I wish you wouldn't let that bother you so much. She might be young, but she's more mature than people her age, if you can't already tell by now."

"I know that, but…"

"Age doesn't matter."

"But she's so young and…"

"And she understands you despite the age difference."

"But her father…"

"Will surely approve of her daughter's future tastes in husbands."

"He is an honorable man while I am…"

"Almost quite as honorable and a war hero to boot."

Kenshin frowned. He couldn't even finish his own sentences now. "I refuse to think that I will be robbing a cradle, Kenji-chan."

"Well, it's settled then. I'm living proof that you accept it, you think she's mature, end of story. Good night, Kenshin."

The Battoussai sighed. _Bested by the kid again. _"Oyasumi nasai, Kenji-chan."

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**Confessions that aren't from Usher:** If I haven't said so already in the beginning… my Japanese is poor even if I do understand most Japanese terms used in animé. I'm just afraid to use them because worrying about how I use them or if I used them right would only hinder me from writing, you know? I know that what the –dono, -san, -sama and even –chan and –kun suffixes mean, and I also realize that "Sessha" is "I" or "this unworthy one", but I was aiming for comedy in the previous chapter. 

Hehe, I confess, I had this chapter done yesterday, but I thought I'd wait until today to upload it. :P


	16. The way of the Kasshin style is

**scythe195: **LOL! I heart Usher. :o) I hope you like the chapter… it's kinda hard to write while watching and getting distracted over cartoons. :p

**celest4: ** Thanks for the review:D haha, I hope Kenshin's not thinking of Kaoru as a little sister. :P

**pnaixrose: **Haha… Remember that episode where Kaoru and Yahiko finally track Kenshin down with Misao's help at Hiko's place? Misao and Yahiko ask Hiko how old he was and they're more than surprised to find out that he's 40. They ask him if the Hiten Mitsurugi Style was some kind of fountain of youth. ROFL And that episode where they go to the Hakone Hot Springs in the Tales of the Meiji… Misao's going on and on about Kaoru's lovelife and maybe Kenshin is worried about his and Kaoru's age difference. ROFL I haven't read any kind of manga, I just go straight for the animé. :o( I've heard of DNAangel, but I've never seen an episode… I updated my bio a bit, listed the ones I could remember… about which animés I've seen and such. :D Good luck on your testing:D

**Night-Owl123: **Believe it or not, I do know someone who prefers the Japanese voices better… even Kenshin's! Oro! O.o I like Richard Hayworth's voice better than the Japanese version. :P

**lolo popoki: **lol! I think I've been watching too much Sci-Fi. ROFL I haven't read "A Glint of Amber Stars" by Rem-chan. :o( I need a link. Ehehehe. :P And I do love Sci-Fi stories, if that 'resistance is futile' remark wasn't enough indication. :P

Thanks to **K&K LOVER** and **Symbolica Desire** for reviewing:D I love reading all of your reviews :o)

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**- CHAPTER 15 –**

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A week has passed since the duo began staying at the Kamiya Dojo in Tokyo.

Kenshin had taken to doing the laundry early in the morning as soon as he finished making and eating breakfast with the Kamiyas. He found out that the early morning sun wasn't hot enough to scorch and by the time he was done hanging the linens, it was time to make lunch and wait for the afternoon sun to dry the laundry out. This gave him enough time to play with little Kaoru – flying kites, spinning tops, giving her piggyback rides or just allowing her to do whatever she wanted to do to him - and by the time the linens were dry, have been taken off from the clothesline and folded neatly, the students began arriving and it was time for them to 'observe' and learn the Kamiya Kasshin Style. It was a nice schedule he had adapted for himself.

The Battoussai didn't want to take part in learning another sword style though, but Kenji pointed out that his attitude would make Kamiya-sensei suspicious so he unwillingly took part in the daily exercises as well.

"Well done, Himura-san!" Koshijiro praised Kenji, patting him on the back for good measure. "You executed that move like a true master of the Kasshin Style! You are a fast-learner indeed. You are a genius!" Kenji beamed at Koshijiro's praise. _Hear that, Otousan? Grandfather called me a genius!_

_Oh, if you only knew,_ Kenshin scoffed. **_He_ **was a fast-learner, but Kenji kept overshadowing him because the boy was already as good at the Kasshin Style as Kamiya-sensei but was just pretending not to know about it. _I think he actually relishes getting compliments from his grandfather, that's why he can't help but showing off._

"It was nothing, Kamiya-sensei. I just pay attention to everything you say, that's all… I also think you're a great teacher."

"Non-sense!" Laughed Koshijiro, though he looked mighty pleased by Kenji's compliments. "You are my best student to date, Himura-san. Are you sure you won't reconsider staying here permanently?"

More than anything in the world, Kenji actually wanted to say yes to that question, but he knew he couldn't. He chuckled lightheartedly. "That's very tempting Kamiya-sensei, I'll give it some thought thanks." _Oh how I wish, grandfather…_

"Sensei!" Called out one of the students. "There's a man at the gate looking for you."

"Alright, continue your lessons while I see to the visitor. Perhaps you can listen to Himura-san or ask him for tips on how to improve your techniques." He told his students. "I'll be back in a bit."

Kenji grinned wickedly, feeling a little mischievous, after his grandfather left the dojo. The students looked at him expectantly, hoping to learn some tips on how to do almost everything right in the eyes of their sensei. "Alright, listen up!" He gathered the students' attention. He pointed his bokken at a bunch of students. "You guys line up alphabetically by height and you guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle." Blank looks met his command. He rolled his eyes in mock irritation and sighed dramatically. "Just practice your swings!" _Geez! _Outside the dojo walls, the heavens began to weep and thunder rolled at a distance. "Kenshin, it's starting to rain."

The day had been overcast; Clouds have been present all day, so the laundry was still in the clothesline, semi-dry. The younger redhead's eyes widened. _Oro! _"Help me take down the laundry, Kenji-chan!"

"But that's your job!"

"Well, don't expect to have fresh clothes to change into tomorrow if you don't." Both father and son rushed outside the dojo to save the laundry from getting soaked once again.

**……**

Little Kaoru rubbed her eyes sleepily, waking up from her afternoon nap. She had a lot of fun with her Kenny earlier today and she expended more energy than usual so she needed the brief sleep. Coming out of her room, still wearing her cute little blue kimono, she knew that her Kenny was practicing with the other Kenny look-alike and her Papa, so she deftly made her way to the dojo, wanting to see them practice. Upon reaching the dojo door, she placed one hand on the door hinges and peeked in, expecting to hear her father's voice giving his audience another one of his famous speeches.

A huge man with a pointy sword was shouting at the students, almost as if he was taunting them. He looked evil. She wondered where her Kenny and Papa were, when the man suddenly started hurting the students and seemed to actually enjoy it. Her eyes widened as screams of pain echoed through the dojo as the poor students fell under the man's blade, visibly hurt. One student even had a gashing wound on his shoulder, while the others stood their ground bravely. Little Kaoru was very afraid of the big bad man, she whimpered.

"Is he alright?"

The man laughed. "So who wants to be defeated next?" With his bloody blade up, he swung around and dared anyone to challenge him. The fools outnumbered him, but they cowered away from him like the pathetic weaklings that they were.

"Kaoru, stand back." Her Papa said from behind her.

"Kamiya-sensei!" Echoed throughout the room, relief evident in the students' voices.

"Gohei, what you are doing is forbidden. The way of the Kasshin Style is to never hurt others," explained Koshijiro as he walked into his dojo. He briefly wondered where Kenji and Kenshin were before he turned his full attention to the man whom he had suspended out of the dojo several weeks back.

Gohei Hiruma snorted. "I'm sick of listening to your lectures. A sword is to chop people up." He grinned evilly and pointed the sword at his former sensei's face. "This blade is begging to taste some more blood. It wants yours." He raised the sword above his head and prepared to attack the man who dared to embarrass him. _No one embarrasses me and gets to live! I'll show you, old man! _ He felt confident in his abilities now; He had been practicing for weeks since he got kicked out.

Koshijiro held his wooden sword in both hands, stepped forward and struck just as Gohei attacked him, hitting his mark right on target as he finished the blow. His opponent screamed in pain as blood poured out of his broken thumb. It was twisted in the oddest of angles, looking like it broke several bones in multiple places. The bloodstained sword fell into a loud clatter on the dojo floor, Gohei writhing in agony on his knees while clutching his broken thumb. "With that thumb, you should never be able to use a sword again for the rest of your life." The master of the Kasshin Style told the offender harshly. "You are expelled from this school! Make sure that you are never to set foot in this dojo again. Leave now before I call the police."

Gohei managed to leer at little Kaoru before Koshijiro's bokken connected with his thick skull, sending him to oblivion. "Drag him outside and leave him there," instructed the Kasshin Master disgustedly to two of his students. It took four of them, but they finally managed to drag the trash outside the dojo premises and left him laying on the ground. "Are you alright?" Koshijiro knelt and examined one of his injured apprentices.

The boy winced from the sharp pain from the wound on his shoulder. "I'm alright, sensei. I thought I was a goner for sure." Admiration and gratitude shone from his eyes.

"Kenny!" Little Kaoru jumped at poor Kenshin who managed to keep the laundry dry, but not himself, with the help of Kenji. His topknot looked a little wet and he was wiping off moisture from his forehead when the little girl launched herself at him. The poor hitokiri lost his balance, but caught it in time not to fall to the floor in an undignified heap.

"What's wrong Kaoru-dono?"

"What happened!" Kenji asked, rushing to the aid of the bloodied students. Kenshin turned his body a little bit on the side, shielding little Kaoru from the view.

"We were attacked by a renegade former student. Where were the two of you!"

"We were saving the laundry from the rain. We apologize, Kamiya-sensei."

"That's alright, what's done is done. We better treat the injured. All those who are alright can go home, practice your swings and let this be a lesson to you. The way of the Kasshin Style is not to hurt people, but to encourage the potential in them. The Kasshin Style is the sword that revitalizes, one that protects. Gohei never understood that, thus he met his just desserts." Grunts of agreement followed the statement; Kenshin was rubbing little Kaoru's back soothingly. "Those who got hurt, I'll take you to the clinic. I trust you will keep a close eye on the dojo this time, Himura-san?"

"Yes, Kamiya-sensei."

Koshijiro, with the help of his uninjured students, took the injured to the nearby clinic for treatment.

"Are you alright, Kaoru-dono?"

"Oh Kenny, that man was so big and scary! He was mean, too!" The little girl cried into the samurai's gi. He continued to rub the little girl's back in an effort to calm her, an overwhelming need to kill whoever attacked the dojo burning in his soul. _What kind of monster would scare a wonderful child like this? _Never had he felt the need to kill someone as he did whoever scared his little Kaoru right now.

"It's alright now, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin soothed the little girl while he glared over little Kaoru's head at Kenji who was looking at his young parents slyly.

_Was it written on his forehead in kanji or something? _"What? Why are you glaring at me like that?"

"Stop thinking bad thoughts, Kenji-chan."

"How can you be so sure I was thinking about bad thoughts, Kenshin?"

"You had that look on your face."

"What look?" He asked, a very innocent look currently on said face. He loved seeing his parents like this… as children. He felt like he had a hand in getting them together somehow, and he could see that his father was already starting to or already felt very protective and possessive with regards to his mother.

"That look you have when you're thinking of something bad," was the simple reply. Kenji tried to deny it, but both of them knew or had an inkling of what the teenager was thinking. _Deny everything…_

Kenji still denied it though. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kenshin."

The Battoussai sighed. _I'm never going to win an argument against him, spoiled brat. _"I guess we won't be having tofu for dinner tonight," He changed topics. It was still raining outside and he didn't want to risk going into town and catching a cold just for some tofu. "What do you say we make extra special riceballs tonight, Kaoru-dono?"

"Can we make some with bunny ears and whiskers?"

"Absolutely, Kaoru-dono."

Kenji snickered in the far corner of the dojo, as he continued putting the bokkens back in their racks. _Ah… young love…_

**……**

_What's this?_ Kenshin stared blankly at the jug in front of him. "It's saké," Kenji told him.

The Battoussai blinked and his forehead wrinkled. "I know what it is. I grew up with shishou, remember? What are you doing with it, Kenji-chan?"

"Ano… you _drink _saké, Kenshin." Kenji had an extremely patronizing voice, mischief twinkling in his eyes.

Kenshin wanted to bang his head on something hard; _It's as if Kenji-chan always deliberately misunderstands everything I say..._ "I know that, Kenji-chan. What I meant was why do you have it? Where did you get it? Why are you holding it?"

Kenji waved his questions away. "Kamiya-sensei handed it over to me when he returned."

"One of the students' parents sell saké for a living. They gave me a jug when I dropped their son off." Finished Koshijiro as he appeared beside Kenji. "One of the benefits of having your students love you and the added bonus of having generous parents of those students. Care for a quick round, Himura-san?"

"You're on, Kamiya-sensei!" Kenji replied enthusiastically as he sat down comfortably, tucking his legs underneath him and waited.

"Can your brother hold liquor?"

"Yes he can, sensei. We grew up with a man who loves his saké," They were both thinking about Seijuro Hiko XIII. _And boy, did he love his saké… _Both Himuras thought.

"Well now," Koshijiro took out three small flat cups from the cupboard and poured a generous amount into each one as they settled themselves comfortably. "They say that when a man drinks saké and it tastes sweet, that man is content." He looked intently over his sake cup at Kenshin. "If it's bitter, then they say that there is something lacking in that man's life." He took a sip of his cup and motioned for the two redheads to do the same.

Kenshin looked a little hesitant to drink from his cup, but Kenji drowned the contents in one gulp. _It's only an old wife's tale, but why do I hesitate to drink saké after hearing that…? _

"What's wrong Kenshin?"

"Nothing," he quietly replied and sipped his saké. He blinked.

"Well? Is it sweet or is it bitter?"

"It's…" Kenshin blinked, "… sweet."

Koshijiro poured more of the liquid into the empty cup of Kenji's and chuckled. "Feh Kenshin, don't read into this old man's story so much. Truly enjoyable Saké with a clean flavor results from a balance and harmony between the sugar and naturally-occurring acids. There's no truth behind that sweet and sour story."

Kenji lowered and raised his head in agreement, but Kenshin smiled inwardly.

_The saké was sweet._ And that was that.

* * *

**Oro-ness and all that jazz: **Oh crap… heh, I lost my train of thought, I swear I had something to say here, but I broke into a chorus of Kono Sekai no Katasumi de and all I could think about is that special I saw about 50 Cent today. O.o :coughs, embarrassed: yeah, that 50 Cent man… he should stop talking trash about his fellow rappers before he ends up like Tupac. :knocks on wood: 

Ah yes… I figured Kenji and Kenshin should be leaving Tokyo soon and get their sexy butts :must not think hentai thoughts about Kenshin: to Otsu. :P


	17. Fireflies Forever

**Yawarako: **Yeah, he'd have to known how to cook for Hiko, but he's not an expert and he didn't have to cook for himself at the inn. :P Kenji is treating him like the help. ROFL A sequel would be nice… I don't know yet though, we'll have to see how this fic goes first. ;)

**celest4**, oh how I want his CD too. :P

:stares at **lolo popoki **with puppy dog eyes: The what now in the who's it? LMAO

Thanks to everyone who reviewed :o)

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**CHAPTER 16**

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"What makes you happy, Kenshin?" Kenji's words were a bit slurred. Koshijiro had passed out from too much saké several minutes ago and was now comfortably snoozing, laying down spread eagle on the floor.

Himura the Battoussai pondered the question. _What makes me happy? I don't think I've ever been asked that question before. _An image of a little girl's sweet and innocent smile flitted through his mind but he pushed it aside, not ready to think about it yet.

_What makes me happy? _He looked at the young man seated across of him. During the days they've spent together, the Hitokiri Battoussai felt calmness in his soul unlike anything he has ever felt before. A feeling of being home. A sense of belonging. Of caring for someone, caring for his kin. The boy from the future had taught him things and introduced him to things that he thought he didn't have a right to see or feel before.

_What makes me happy? I think the real question is do I deserve to be happy? _

"You know I left shishou to become a hitokiri, truly believing that I could use my sword to bring about a new era. But… it seems like no matter how many I kill, Japan gets no closer to achieving peace." Kenshin's purple eyes met a semi-sober darker shade across the table. "Knowing you, Kenji-chan, has shown me what happiness and what protecting someone means. I realize that I may be different from what you are used to, but I promise that even if I can't protect everyone or make everyone happy right now, someday, somehow, when the hitokiri battoussai is no longer needed, I will find a way to do it without killing in order to atone for all the lives I have destroyed."

Despite the fuzzy state of his brain, it registered on Kenji that what his father was saying was important. He sat up straighter and listened intently.

"I would wish for you to stay in this time, Kenji-chan. I will admit that I enjoy your company very much. You have given me so much and not expected anything in return. It would make me happy to be able to make up whatever wrongs I have committed to you in the future, that I would."

_I never thought I'd hear you say those words, father. _Kenji smiled at Kenshin. "You already have, I think. This has been the happiest time of my life, Kenshin. I… I never thought I'd get to experience this. If I were to die tomorrow, I would die a happy man… father."

"Don't say that Kenji-chan. You will not die as long as I live." Kenshin said vehemently and totally meant it. Over his dead body was anyone going to lay one hand on any of his family. He didn't like Kenji talking like that, even if he was only joking.

"Did I ever tell you you're too serious for your own good, Kenshin?"

Both father and son smiled at each other.

"You know, we'd have to leave soon. Someone might look for us in Otsu and think we're dead or missing if they don't find us there."

Kenji sighed. "I know. I knew this," he indicated at Koshijiro who was still snoring softly on the floor, "was too good to last." His eyes filled with sadness, but he knew that he was going to see them again someday, probably, his grandfather and mother… "Sometimes, I look at them and imagine just living here forever, without the war… being happy. It's been weird." He fixed his unwavering stare at the now empty saké jug on the table. "Most of the people I know who are older than me in my time are younger than me now. I know them, but they don't know me. They look so young, almost carefree even in this time of war, compared to how I knew them before… or er… will know them… Bah, you know what I mean!" His thoughts drifted back to the people at the Aoiya back in Kyoto. Aoshi-sama was already an ice block as a teen, but his shoulders weren't bearing the weight he was in Kenji's time yet. The chip on his shoulder wasn't there yet. "Some of them," he said, thinking about Saitoh, "aren't even my friends yet."

"I'm sure everything is going to turn out fine."

Kenji sighed. "Yeah, I hope so too. If I had the power to stop time, I would. I would stay here forever, just the four of us in this dojo."

Crickets chirped and the wind rustled among the trees. Kenji's eyes were getting heavier and heavier as the effects of the alcohol in the saké took root in his system. He was beginning to think that it was unfair how some people like Kenshin or especially Hiko-sama could drink more than him, but not display symptoms of being drunk.

He didn't offer any protest as Kenshin assisted him back to their room after the hitokiri dropped Kamiya-sensei in his room. Kenji was as cooperative as a rag doll as Kenshin dressed him in a sleeping yukata and gently tucked him into bed like a three-year old. He fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

"I shall protect your happiness, my son."

**……**

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeny!"

"I'm coming! Hold on Miss Kaoru!"

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeny!"

"Almost there, Kaoru-dono."

"Hurry up! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

"What's with all the racket?" Koshijiro asked to no one in particular when he opened his door and tried to rub his hang-over away. He had very low tolerance for alcohol, which was why he didn't often indulge himself in alcoholic drinks.

"Kenshin?" Kenji inquired as he opened his shoji door to investigate the commotion.

"Keeeeeeeeeeny!"

"Hold on Kaoru-dono!"

"Mou! Hurry up!"

Curiosity piqued, Kenji followed the loud noises to their source. "It's too early in the morning to be this perky." He muttered under his breath. He didn't wake up on the right side of the futon today, he had a minor headache from the saké last night and his eyes refused to cooperate this morning. They were still half-closed and bloodshot from his indulgence last night.

"Huuuuuuuuury Kenny!"

"Hai, Kaoru-dono, just a few more okay?"

Kenji wondered what his young parents were up to so early in the morning. _Heck, I wonder how Kenshin manages to shake off the effects of alcohol overnight. _He figured that his low tolerance for alcohol must have come from his mother's side, he always saw double after just a few rounds. He noticed that Koshijiro seemed to be cursed with the same affliction when the guy began his journey to Dreamland early.

Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Kenji finally found the cause of all the loud noise so early in the morning. He stood beside Koshijiro and blinked owlishly at the sight.

Kenshin was invoking an interesting use of his god-like speed, trying to pacify an irate-looking Kaoru. He was lugging buckets of water from the well to the bathhouse over the critical eye of the little girl who was holding her trusty bokken, looking like she was poised to strike any minute now. She kept telling her Kenny to hurry and 'Kenny' was indeed hurrying, looking like a whole battalion of Shinsengumi assassins were hot on his tail.

Koshijiro looked downright impressed at Kenshin's show of uncanny speed, he stood there with his mouth gaping open and his eyes were two sizes larger.

If their mentor could see them now, see Kenshin use these sacred teachings of his to pacify a little girl… Kenji collapsed on the dojo floor in a fit of hysterics.

"Hurry up, Kenny!" Demanded little Kaoru again, her hands now fisted and placed on either sides of her waist.

"Almost done, Kaoru-dono. Just one more and…" He disappeared twice more into the bathhouse.

When the little girl was finally satisfied with the amount of water that was prepared for her bath, the Battoussai dutifully stroked the fires to the bathhouse, heating the little girl's bath up. When he was satisfied with the temperature, and no more complaints were heard from the bossy little girl, he walked over to where his son had broken down and was still laughing, and glared at him.

Kenji wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Slaving away so early in the morning, Kenshin? I didn't think you could use your speed for lugging buckets of water. How come I never thought about that." He collapsed into another fit of hysterics, clutching his sides that were starting to hurt from laughing.

"I woke up a little later than normal and Kaoru-dono was miffed that her bath wasn't ready for her as soon as she woke up." Came the curt reply.

Koshijiro visibly blushed. "I apologize, Himura-san. My daughter can be such the little princess at times. I take full responsibility for spoiling her."

"Non-sense Kamiya-sensei. Kenshin's been spoiling her in this past week more than you probably have these past couple of years, that's why she walks all over him. I think my little brother enjoys giving little Kaoru the attention, too. My brother has taken a fancy to her as well." Kenji wiggled his brows suggestively at Kenshin, but thankfully, in Kenshin's opinion, Koshijiro didn't seem to notice.

Kenshin continued to glare at his son, who was acting oblivious to his reaction, while he growled low at the back of his throat. It wasn't his fault that little Kaoru had taken to bossing him around! Somehow, the little girl had developed an attachment to him and being the bossy little cherub that she was, ordered him around as she pleased. The feared Hitokiri Battoussai figured that he only had two choices whenever those baby blue eyes turned their attention to him. One - he could do whatever she wanted him to do without any questions or complaints. Or two – he could do whatever she wanted him to do without any questions or complaints. The teachings of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style were just no match for a pair of angelic baby blue eyes.

"It's no trouble at all, Kamiya-sensei," Kenshin said after glaring once more at Kenji whose shoulders were still shaking in mirth. _It's not **that** funny! _He couldn't figure out what the other redhead had found so funny."Breakfast is ready. If you're hungry you can go ahead and eat, I'll wait until Kaoru-dono finishes her bath so we can eat together." He thought how little Kaoru always smelled like jasmines and guessed that it must be the soap she uses.

"Are you still going to see the fireflies tonight?"

"Yes, I think Kaoru-dono is really looking forward to that."

**……**

"I believe they are called Wishing Fireflies." Kenji told his younger companions. He knew the legend of these wishing fireflies as he grew up in this town. "It's said that if you make a wish and your heart is pure, the fireflies will grant that wish." He told the little girl who was sitting on top of Kenshin's shoulder.

Various glowing fireflies flew around them, providing light in the darkness of the night. Little Kaoru kept reaching tiny fingers towards the fireflies; it was as if she wanted to capture them. Kenshin was listening to their talk quietly; he was his usual quiet and observant self. Koshijiro was left at the dojo. Their sensei thought that he was too old to look at the fireflies and shooed the Himuras away upon seeing his daughter's enthusiasm.

Little Kaoru sat atop her Kenny's shoulders and looked at the tiny bugs emitting a pretty glow with wide eyes. "Anything I wish?"

Kenji nodded and smiled. "Anything."

"I wish…" Little Kaoru tightened her hold on her Kenny's hair, "I wish that you and Kenny will never leave and stay with me and Papa forever."

"Forever is a long time, isn't it?"

"Forever and ever, until I grow up and we can live happily ever after!" The little girl squealed and pounded her dangling legs on the Battoussai's chest.

Kenshin stilled the little girl's enthusiastic legs, afraid that she would fall off from too much excitement. "Maa maa Kaoru-dono."

Kenji grinned at his young mother fondly. "Wishes have certain ways of being granted, Kaoru-chan. No matter how long it takes. Always remember that."

**……**

**FOREVER** came a week later.

The two redheads bid Koshijiro goodbye with a heavy heart. Kenji had waited until Kenshin had tucked little Kaoru in for her midday nap before they quietly packed their things and said farewell to the Kasshin master who had grown close to both of them.

Koshijiro's eyes were full of sadness as he tried to convince the brothers to stay one last time. They were great swordsmen, mere children that shouldn't have to fight in a war. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here instead, Himura-san? There is always more room in the dojo for fellow samurai like you and your brother, especially for ones as talented as you are. You have been my best student so far," he told Kenji once more.

It physically hurt Kenshin when he had to tuck the ebony-haired little girl into her little futon just a few minutes ago, quietly bidding her sleeping form goodbye for now. He too did not wish to leave, but he knew that they couldn't stay here for as long as they liked, they had duties to fulfill. He figured that Kenji's unnatural silence was an indication of how the other redhead was taking this forced separation from his grandfather and mother as well. He was unusually quiet, and his normally cheery lavender eyes were devoid of all emotion. He didn't like seeing Kenji-chan sad.

"I wish we could stay, Kamiya-sensei." Kenshin told his future father-in-law quietly when his son remained silent. "But we have obligations to satisfy and promises to meet. Perhaps someday our paths will cross again."

The Kamiya Kasshin master sighed. He had hoped to convince the brothers to stay, but he didn't want to force them to do anything they didn't want. "The Kamiya Dojo is always open for you and your brother, Kenshin. I wish I could make you stay, if not for this old man's sake then maybe for my daughter who seemed to have developed an attachment to you." Koshijiro smiled. "But I understand. What kind of man are you if you cannot keep to your promise, ne?" His smile was a sad one, not quite reaching his eyes. His gaze focused on the two redheads who have become like the sons that he's never had. He truly wished that these two men whom he had deemed to be honorable would return someday. He dreaded having to face his precious daughter when she woke up and having to explain to her that that her Kenny had left.

Kenji broke out of his state of mental numbness long enough to give his grandfather a bone-crushing hug, one that the older man didn't expect but returned nonetheless.

The Battoussai had to turn his head away from the extreme emotion that was igniting the atmosphere around them.

"Take care of yourself sensei. And little Kaoru, too. I promise," Kenji swallowed, willing the tears that threatened to form in his eyes away. "I promise that if we survive this war, we will do our best to return." He blinked rapidly, clearing away the moisture in his eyes. He was not going to be weak in front of his father **and** grandfather. He was a Himura. He was strong.

"You do that and we'll have a party, ne? Maybe your brother won't be able to drink us under the table again," Koshijiro joked.

Although they laughed, all three of them could tell that it was forced. None of them were too happy about the current situation, but they were manly men.

"Good luck."

Kenshin and Kenji Himura bowed respectfully to Koshijiro Kamiya one last time before they turned away from the dojo and finally started their journey to Otsu.

**……**

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** Liner Notes: **(lol, that's what the RK DVDs have) I felt sad that they had to leave, but I feel like they've lingered long enough already... and this fic's on its 16th chapter with no definite direction or purpose, maybe it's time to kill it, ne:P  
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	18. Are we there yet?

**It is with a heavy heart that I need to inform you that I do not own Kenshin.**

**:cough: Okay, I don't wanna have a lynch mob waiting for me outside my house. I was kidding when I said I'd kill Kenji! JUST KIDDING!** LMAO. Oro **lolo popoki **:bangs head on desk with Lily: I just remembered… I believe they called Tokyo Edo before… but feh! I'm not going back and looking for all the "Tokyo" words and changing them to "Edo". O.O ROFL I forgotted. :sniff: Sowee. :P And stop growling at me! ROFL! Did that "I will protect your happiness" scare ya? ROFLMAO Did it give you Tomoe flashbacks:P lololol… you DID ask how I was going to soften Kenshin up. ROFL :cackles maniacally: If I kill precious Kenji that would soften Kenshin up very much, don't you think? Now that he loves ickle Kenji so much. :insert evil laugh here: ;) Waaaah… T'Ume! GR!

:cowers from **November's Ash**: I was merely thinking that… it has 17 chapters… and isn't it a bit of a drag:scratches head: I wouldn't want it to get boring, that I would not. :nod: The idea of Kenji? Ermmm… we saw him in the OAV? I shall not kill this fic (yet) so thou shall stop ranting at sessha. :P

K&K LOVER, you are too kind. :o) ROFL! Stop threatening me with that marshmallow, Lily of the Shadow! I surrender! Lol I had… one moment of weakness when I was deprived of coke, that I was. :nod: Wotcher talkin' bout Night-Owl123:P What were the Shinsengumi planning:scratches head: They're in Kyoto… are they not? I think uh, the Shogunate is still after Kenshin. Hehe, I'll try to work that into the story, was thinking about that earlier and typed a few sentences about it. :o) Heh, believe it or not Hitokiri Yumemi, your review cheered me up. :o) If it's okay with you that a fic isn't going anywhere, then that's good enough for me. :o) Thanks:D 

**SereneC **I felt that way too… that's why I asked that question last chapter. hehe.

Wow, thanks **Sutefani-chan**! I think that's the best compliment I've ever received yet. :o)

Lol **WolfDaughter! **I said this wasn't for Tomoe fans because Tomoe's not going to be making an appearance in this fic. I'm glad you **still** love it though. ROFL

Sorry sorry sorry **keshin and inuyasha luver**! I won't kill this fic I won't! I just had a moment of weakness… and Hitokiri Yumemi strictly forbid me to kill it. ROFL!

P.S. If I didn't update as fast as I can, I would like to blame lolo popoki for directing me to that A Glint of Amber Stars fic. :P

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**- CHAPTER 17 -**

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"Are we there yet?"

_Three days of pure torture._ "No."

They walked a whole quarter of a mile before he asked again.

"Are we there yet?"

"No, not yet." _Can't he think of anything else aside from asking me that same question over and over again?_

Several more steps and… "Are we there yet?"

_Kami-sama, is this your way of punishing me for all the lives that I have taken? _"Iie, we'll reach Otsu by the end of the day, that we will."

Kenji hummed a catchy ditty as they traveled the path from Edo to Otsu. Otsu was located on the main island of Honshu. It was situated on beautiful Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. It was less than a half day's travel from Kyoto, so it took the father and son at least three days to reach it from Edo since they avoided traveling by the known paths to Kyoto from Edo this time.

"Are we there yet?"

_What do I have to do to have some peace and quiet around here?_ "Not yet."

Two pairs of sandals softly echoed on the land that they were walking on. They had the forest to themselves and the sun was high up in the sky. "Are we there yet?"

"No, Kenji-chan." The Battoussai sighed and continued walking. Ever since they left the city of Edo and neared Kyoto once more, all he heard from the other redhead were those words. If the young bodyguard didn't cease his 'are we there yet' questions, Kenshin Himura was going to be known as plain old "Batty" instead of "Battoussai". Kenji-chan was driving him up the wall with…

"Are we there yet?"

Our young hitokiri grit his teeth together, a tick was starting to develop on the right side of his cheek. "Just a bit further, Kenji-chan." He kept thinking that all he needed was several minutes of peace and quiet. Ever since they left Edo, he couldn't even hear himself think anymore.

Kenji didn't seem aware that he was starting to get on Kenshin's nerves. He interpreted Kenshin's silence as something else. He watched Kenshin walk from the corner of his eye, noting that the hitokiri's topknot seemed a little stiffer than normal and his hands were, as always, tucked inside his gi.

"I keep forgetting that Tokyo is still called Edo in this time," He told his father as he continued to try and cheer the young hitokiri up. Kenshin maintained that far-away look on his face, seeming like he was thinking of a long-lost puppy that died saving a little boy from a burning building.

Ever since they left Tokyo, the Battoussai had retreated back to his quiet self. He looked extremely heartbroken, appearing as if he left his heart in Tokyo…

"And did you notice? That Kyoto is like Tokyo, only spelled differently?"

The Battoussai merely shrugged and continued walking.

_If Kenshin is back to shrugging quietly then it must be bad._

They continued walking silently for several more minutes until they reached a small town. Although it was small compared to bigger cities like Kyoto and Tokyo, there were still lots of people up and about, and those people paid the striking duo a lot of attention as they walked through the streets. Who could blame them?

People from towns as small as this were bound to notice if strangers visited, so it was no wonder that children paused in the middle of their play, women halted from their gossip. It was all normal except for those lecherous looks they were getting from the drunks outside of a seedy-looking tavern that were quite disgusting in Kenji's opinion. It took all he had to remind himself that his sword was used to protect, not kill.

Kenji was grumbling morosely under his breath about cursed red hair and striking good looks while Kenshin was on full-alert mode. There were no purple specs in his amber eyes as he surveyed their surroundings with a critical eye, looking for any hostile threats.

Kenshin was the one who knew the location of this said cabin in the so-and-so location. Kenji couldn't care less about the directions, he just wanted to get there before sunset. His feet were killing him and his stomach rumbled. _I'm hungry. When we get to the cabin… _"Hey Kenshin, you think we should stop by the market first and buy some food to cook? The idea of starving in some secluded cabin doesn't sit well with me."

The Battoussai was the one entrusted with their finances, so he was in charge of carrying the money. Kenji had absolutely nothing on him, save for what little belongings he had and of course, his 'piece of scrap of a sword'.

"Good idea Kenji-chan." The Battoussai said and stopped to ask for directions to the market from an old lady who looked too blind to gape at them like the other townsfolk. The old lady pointed them to the right direction, and an hour later, they finally reached their new home with a basket full of food each.

The cabin sat atop a hill, surrounded by a nice piece of land that looked fertile enough for farming. It didn't look big, but it certainly looked roomy enough to accommodate the father and son duo.

Kenji stopped just at the foot of the hill and took in a deep breath of fresh air. In his hands he carried a basket full of white radish, some carrots, several roots, sweet potatoes and even a large piece of tofu. He was looking forward eating some fried ones tonight.

"Ah. Home sweet home." He looked at his father out of the corner of his eye again. Kenshin's attitude was starting to irritate him. The Battoussai barely said anything, just nodded and shrugged when needed, and it was as if he wasn't really paying attention to what Kenji was telling him. All his efforts to cheer his father up were going to waste.

"So how do you like our new home for the moment, Kenshin?" The Battoussai shrugged. _The man wasn't even listening to him. _"You think we should celebrate tonight and drink some saké?"

The Battoussai merely grunted in response.

"So how long are we supposed to wait here and how do we know when it's safe to go back?"

The Battoussai shrugged again.

Kenji's eyes narrowed on his father's face. "I was thinking that maybe we can have some of that fish for dinner." Shrug. "Some tofu would be nice too." Shrug. "I was thinking earlier if we can even catch our own fish." Shrug. "Probably not since I'm a pretty lousy fisherman." Shrug. "And then after we have dinner, I was thinking of signing up for the Shinsengumi. Think they'll look away from my Ishin past and accept me in their ranks? Maybe I can get promoted to captain if I work hard enough. Who knows? If I get past the front door, maybe…"

"I get your point Kenji-chan." The Battoussai replied, the corners of his mouth contorting in amusement. "Gomen for not paying much attention during the trip. I was… preoccupied."

Kenji wanted to tease the hitokiri about a little girl in Tokyo but tucked that knowledge away for future use and grinned evilly.

They walked up to the little cottage and opened the door. The house had a kitchen, a small bedroom and lots of empty spaces that could serve for storage or entertaining guests, Kenji surmised.

It was quaint.

It was going to be home for who knows how long.

It would have to do.

They set their baskets on the earthen floor of the cabin, each of them surveying the small hut with a critical eye. The hill provided them the advantage of seeing whoever approached their abode ahead of time, despite the forest surrounding them. They were not going to be easily attacked. Both of them could sense ki, even if Kenji still felt carefree enough not to be on the same paranoid plane as Kenshin was, so that was an advantage to them as well.

While Kenji poked and prodded a sack of rice in the far corner of the cabin, the Battoussai was busy scouting the area. So far, he's managed to find at least five weaknesses in the cabin's defenses, which deepened his frown. He didn't expect some sort of unpenetrable fortress, but he could at least try to make it into one if he was going to rest easy with his son's safety.

"Sweet! A whole sack of rice and another one full of potatoes." Kenji cried out suddenly. "Too bad we bought our own potatoes earlier. We could've gone for more tofu instead or saké."

The Battoussai was eyeing the hut's windows carefully. They were located not far from the door, and there was another one near the makeshift sink. The small house was going to provide them enough shelter, even throughout the winter, even if it wasn't that big. It certainly looked sturdy enough. The main thing that concerned him was the threat of fire.

"… and that's the gist of it. What do you think, Kenshin?"

_Huh? What did I miss? _He turned his purple eyes on Kenji's expectant ones, a look of total cluelessness in them. The older redhead's eyes narrowed into slits. "You weren't listening to me again, were you?" Kenji accused.

The Battoussai tried to tamper down the flush that was creeping up his face and scratched the back of his head apologetically. "I was merely assessing the security of the cabin, that I was. I apologize, Kenji-chan."

"We're not going to be attacked by the Shinsengumi in these parts," Kenji scoffed.

Kenshin's black brow raised a good inch into his forehead. "Do you know that for a fact because of knowledge from the future or are you just speculating?"

"Relax, Mr. Paranoid. No one's concocting assassination attempts in the shadows for us as we speak. Why can't you just loosen up for one minute and not worry about hidden motives or secret plots against you? You've been tense ever since I met you."

The Battoussai dryly smiled. "Being paranoid comes with the job description of being a hitokiri. It couldn't be helped."

Kenji huffed. "No one's out to get us here in the boonies."

"But it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Constant vigilance!" Kenji exclaimed, brandishing his sakabatou in the air threateningly. "Sleep with one eye closed and the other open, is that it?"

"Something along those lines."

"No wonder you have those unsightly bags under your eyes."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He sniggered. "So what are we having for dinner tonight? I'm famished!"

**……**

They were like chameleons. Able to adapt to any surrounding or environment that they involved themselves in. Fitting into the small town wasn't very hard. Living in seclusion helped a lot, but they only went to town to stock up on their food supply.

So far so good. They haven't gotten into a single sword fight since they settled in. They almost did one day, when perverted drunks in the street mistook Kenshin for a girl and started hitting on him. Kenji was surprised that Kenshin didn't strike the men down where they were standing, but he guessed that restraint came with being a hitokiri in the shadows. One didn't blend well with the crowd and pass up as a normal bystander if one hacked the crowd to pieces with one's god-like speed and swordskill that looked like it came from the heavens.

Kenji was itching for a fight, but Kenshin had quickly diffused the situation by calmly pointing out to the drunks that he was a man and not a lady. He then calmly walked away with a dejected Kenji in tow.

Things were so terribly boring for the young bodyguard. Sure they trained to keep in shape and not get rusty with their training. They were still going back to war after all this afterall, but there was no action in their lives. All they did was train, cook, do laundry, train and talk… well, okay, it was Kenshin who mostly did the laundry and cook, but it was still boring.

Kenshin caught the long sigh that Kenji had let out. "Is there something wrong, Kenji-chan?" He asked his son as they sat outside their humble abode. He could feel restlessness within his son's ki. The older samurai seemed to be troubled as of late. The Battoussai didn't know if it was because Kenji was missing his own time or if it was because he was feeling restless in their isolation.

The fifteenth Hiten Mitsurugi Master sighed again before he replied. "If we don't get some action soon, I'm going to die of boredom." He sighed again, dramatically this time.

"Action?"

"Excitement, activity, or at least someone else to talk to!" He looked at Kenshin apologetically. "No offense Kenshin, but there's only so much we can talk about, and my one-sided conversations are taking their toll on me." He sighed again. "I need something to do."

"You can help me with the laundry if you want."

Kenji snorted. "Shyeah right. No offense Kenshin, but I've never been a fan of doing laundry unlike you."

The Battoussai frowned. "The land seems fertile enough for farming." He had a calculating look on his face. "Before shishou saved me from those bandits and before I was picked up by the slave traders, my family was into farming. My father was a good farmer."

"Cool. So we can grow our own vegetables here?"

"If that is what you wish."

"Nice!"

The Battoussai smiled. "We can purchase some seeds for the crops in town tomorrow if you want." Tomorrow, he was going to teach his son how to plant crops.

Kenji was excited. He thought that he might have found a new way to pass time afterall.

**……**

Meanwhile, back in Kyoto, an Ishin Shishi named Katagai sees Iizuka in the crowd.

"Hey Iizuka!" He called out, but the other man didn't notice him. _I wonder what he's doing here. Wasn't he supposed to see Himura-san and Kamiya-san and spend the night at their hideout today? What's he doing here in Kyoto when he's supposed to be with the Battoussai? _

Iizuka was acting like a lizard, bobbing his head left and right, almost as if he was searching for predators. He was acting very suspicious for Katagai's taste. Katagai discreetly follows him at a distance, determined to find out what his fellow Ishin was up to.

The man he was trailing made his way to an abandoned-looking building, head darting left and right again suspiciously before he slithered right in.

Curiosity now way beyond piqued, Katagai quietly makes his way to one of the windows and gasps at the sight.

Several lamps lit the room, several men gathered around in a circle in a meeting. Iizuka walked right into the meeting all chummy with the people present. They were the Yaminobu, a group of Tokugawa ninjas!

Katagai flattened himself along the building's walls in an effort to hide his presence. _So Iizuka was the spy! That bastard! Wait til I tell Katsura-san!_ The good thing was, in his mind, that now that they knew who the spy was, the Battoussai could come back to Kyoto and resume his work. The Ishin Shishi were going to rise to full power again. The thought cheered him up considerably. Determined to inform his leader of his comrade's treachery, he crouched lower to the ground, wanting to distance himself from the conniving group as soon as possible and reporting back to his fellow Ishin Shishi warriors.

He never made it.

Iizuka jumped as the door to their location was opened and a bloody body was thrown carelessly inside. His eyes widened. _Wasn't that…_

"You were followed, Iizuka. You're getting sloppy. I had to dispose of him quick before he can make a run for it. I suggest you be more careful next time if you value your life."

Iizuka nodded and swallowed nervously, sweating profusely in the process. All he wanted were several pieces of gold. Gold that would give him the chance to start a new life in another country, away from Japan, away from the chaos and bloodshed. He certainly didn't want to end up like Katagai over there… dead. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.

"As… as I was saying, my friends…" He continued sweating some more, silently praying to Kami-sama for his safety. "The Battoussai is now in Otsu, with someone who looks exactly like him. I… I don't know what the Battoussai's weakness is yet, but if I were to take a guess, I would say that it would have to be the Kamiya boy. They are close friends. If something were to happen to Kamiya, I'm sure the Battoussai would take it badly."

Speculations about what exactly this Kamiya boy meant to the Battoussai rang throughout the secret rendezvous.

"I believe they are good friends." Iizuka said thoughtfully. He too was puzzled by the seemingly strange duo. "But I must warn you – the Kamiya boy is skilled with a sword as well. He managed to take on an entire squad of the Shinsengumi plus their leader. He is not to be taken lightly."

"So how do you suggest we get to this weakness in order to bring down the Battoussai, traitor?"

Iizuka flinched from the ninja leader's words. He knew he was a traitor, but the guy didn't have to call him "traitor" to address him each time. He had a name and a fine one at that. "I… well, I don't know yet. I shall observe them when I visit and report my findings back to you."

**……**

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**Tales from behind the veil… err… computer screen: **Oro! I was merely wondering when this fic will end and how it'll end. :continues to laugh maniacally at lolo's face: roflrofl just kidding:P You don't think it's getting a bit long… and er… tedious, this fic:scratches head: I don't want to be a murderer and kill people with boredom. :sigh: Confessions of a teenage drama queen: I've been obsessing about this fic, thinking about where to go with it every free time I get, I haven't had time to do much anymore. O.o How do you brilliant writers out there do it:o) I don't want it to end, I don't… but on the other hand… how long does it take to make a fic? Ermmmm… I started this out of the blue, because of a cold and I had nothing else to do one day. lol My cold is over now, so it got me to thinking. :P But don't worry! The one thing I hate most is when writers abandon their fics… I won't abandon this fic until it's over. :o) I swear upon Kenji's head. ROFL

Okay… I was thinking… that these are the choices:

1 – Kenji goes back to his 'future' kind of like Future Trunks in DBZ.

2 – Kenji stays in the past kind of like Back to the Future 2 where the doc stays in the old west.

3 – Future Kenji dies but 'saves' baby Kenji's future... kind of like Chris from Charmed. :hides from Lily and Lolo: (Hey, I'm only giving out all the options so stop waving that mallow at me and stop growling :P)

:flips reverse blade on sharp side and waves it threateningly at Scented Candles: I want an update on ONLY WITH YOU! PLEEEEEASE:D

hahaha… and yes, I've been re-reading the Harry Potter books, thus Kenji's Mad-Eye Moody impression. :P

P.S. Yes, I do love Hiko, that I do… I thought and thought of how to incorporate him into the story, but I thought it'd be too early… so maybe Mr. Perfect can make his entrance ermm… later on:o)

ORO! Did anyone else have trouble logging on to for the past two days? I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner… I couldn't log on. :o(

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. Each time I feel like giving up and just reverting back to READING fics, your reviews get me back on track again. :o)


	19. Practice makes Perfect

ROFL! I'm not cruel to you, **lolo popoki**! ROFL You're one of the few who's been reviewing since the earliest crummy chapters! I heart you:o) And no, I don't wanna kill Kenji:sniff: I THINK I have an idea of how to kill… er… did I say kill? Hehehe… just kidding! LMAO! I just like the word… kill… kill… kill… ROFL It rolls out of your mouth quite nicely, don't you think:P I'd rather not kill him, so I'll think of something… I hope! LOL I'm not very renowned for my ability to use my brain. :P

Thanks **Scented** :o) I can't wait for that chapter:P

Woah **Carebear-chan**! That was a LOOOOOOONG review! Thanks so much for the advice! You made very valid points. Hehe, I think I know what to do with our dearest Kenji-chan now. ;) And yes, I was looking for some advice. I appreciate the feedback very much. :D

I won't **kenshin and inuyasha luver**! Don't worry:D I won't abandon the fic until I finish it… and lately, because of all the reviewers, I've been having some :cough: crazy ideas of how to keep it alive. ROFL Reviewing would be pretty much appreciated, thanks:D

**Noman **I agree. There's nothing for him there. He seems happier in the Bakamatsu, doesn't he? He's with Kenshin… and he has lots of family, even if they don't know he's family. :o) All he has in the Meiji is Hiko. ROFL

Aaaah! **Hitokiri Yumemi, **I shall update to keep you happy. :P But if you're willing to kill people… lolol ;)

**Night-Owl123**, I found Peacemaker, but I have to wait. I just got the Gundam Wing series and I don't want to push my luck. :grins sheepishly: I keep visiting that site where I found it every chance I get though. Lol, just staring at the pic of the DVDs. :P

Lol November's Ash! You were threatening me with a marshmallow, were you not? ROFL! And I do, I do take your reviews as compliments. :D They always put a smile on my face. :o) Sutefani-chan, I will NOT kill Kenji. (maybe) hahaha! LMAO! Just kidding! ROFL Okay, honestly, as of right now, I do NOT want to kill Kenji. I heart him. It's like I've seen him grow up a bit in this fic… t'would be a shame to kill him. :insert maniacal laughter here: o.O 

Thanks for reviewing **bigronnie17! **:o)

**LOL pnaixrose! **I liked that part, too. It's dedicated to my friend who goes postal on me whenever I call her "beloved Aoshi-sama" "Aoshikins". ROFL

**Blue: **Yes!

**celest4: **It's not! It's not coming to an end! Well… it is in a way but not really. ;) I'm planning some sort of sequel… or maybe just continue on this one… who knows, but nope, I don't see this fic ending sometime in the near future yet. :o) I envy your 50cent CD. How is it:D :sniff: Tis okay even if you didn't review last chapter. :sniff:tries to make Liezel feel as guilty as possible:sniff:P

Thank you so much for everyone who continues to review. I get inspired by the reviews, sometimes I just sit here and read them, then something sparks from one of those reviews and the next thing I know, I have one whole chapter. ROFL I'll go check myself into one of those padded rooms now. :P

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**CHAPTER 18**

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Kenji threw his head back and laughed until tears filled his eyes. His hearty laughter and Kenshin's soft chuckling could be heard from a good distance. The boy was physically pounding the ground with his fists in an effort to calm his gaiety. Such was his mirth.

"Shishou was pissed off, but he tried hard not to show it." When he managed to calm down he continued, but his shoulders were still shaking in mirth. "He can be sadistic at times, but you can tell that he really cares for his baka deshi."

"I agree. I remember the time when I thought I was dying. I had eaten some poisonous mushrooms and he made me some medicine." Kenshin had a far-away look in his eyes as he paused in mid-motion, remembering the incident. "Shishou saved my life." He nodded.

"He saved your life only to torture you with rigorous training."

Kenshin chuckled again. "I don't know how I managed to live through all of that. He was worse than the slave drivers."

"Did he also insist you execute the exact move perfectly right after he shows it to you?"

Father and son were toiling the soil in front of their little hut, planting some vegetable seeds that they bought from the town yesterday. The Battoussai seemed like a professional as he carried a hoe in one hand and seedlings in the other. They were both enjoying themselves despite the need to be under the blazing heat of the sun. It actually took them all day just to prep the soil and get some air into it by tilling it, but when they were done, planting seeds was the easiest part.

Notwithstanding sharing stories regarding their common mentor with each other, Kenji refrained from going into details about how he learned the succession technique, as he thought it wise that Kenshin not know about that until he was a rurouni. He felt that it wasn't his place to mess up the timeline more than he already had. That didn't prevent him from sharing other shishou stories though.

Kenji laughed again. "It's nice to know that he did it to you before he did it to me. Some people never change, eh? There was this one time when he ordered me to get some water from the lake," Both redheads rolled their eyes at their master's most common form of punishment. "I thought it was another routine punishment but boy was I wrong. He –"

"Himura-san! Kamiya-san!" Greeted a cheerful voice from a distance.

Kenji dropped his gardening tool on the ground and cupped a hand over his eyes, chasing away the sun's reflection to enable him to see who was coming up the hill.

Kenshin moved closer to where he left his sword on the side of the house when he took it off so he can toil the soil without any constraints. He casually picked it up and tucked it into his belt then frowned at the back of Kenji's head. The boy didn't reach for his sword that wasn't even in the vicinity. His sakabatou was still inside the house, propped up against the rice sack. He was too trusting for his own good and for the Battoussai's peace of mind.

"Konnichiha Iizuka!" Kenji gave him a friendly smile and a cheery wave. He was happy to see a familiar face that he considered to be a friend. "What brings you over to this side of the lake?"

Iizuka returned Kenji's warm smile and tipped his head in the Battoussai's direction. "I come with news from the Ishin. Maybe we should take this talk inside."

The Battoussai nodded and opened the door to their cabin, ushering Iizuka in. The visitor gently patted away the dirt and grime that was gathered in his gi and hakama as he untied the strings that held his straw hat in place. He held his hat in his hands as he waited for the other redhead to enter the hut.

Kenji motioned for Iizuka and Kenshin to go ahead and sit on the small table they had in their makeshift dining table. "Would you like some tea or saké?"

"Tea would be fine, thank you." He replied as he set his straw hat beside him and made himself comfortable.

The Ishin Shishi bodyguard took the kettle from the stove and brought it over to where the two men were gathered and poured them three cups of hot tea. "So tell us Iizuka. What brings you over? Is it time to go back yet? Have you found out who the spy is? Is it safe? How's Kyoto?"

"How is Katsura-san?" Interjected Kenshin.

Iizuka looked from one redhead to the other, trying to decide which question to answer first. He knew that the older one didn't mean anything by asking about the spy, but he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "Katsura-san is fine. He sends you his well wishes Himura-san. And to you as well, Kamiya-san." Iizuka gently held his cup over his mouth and calmly sipped his tea. "We haven't figured out who the traitor is yet so it is not yet safe to return to Kyoto as of now."

Nobody noticed the sighs of relief that came out of Kenji and Kenshin. None of them wanted to return to war just yet.

"Katsura-san would also like to send you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick piece of envelope.

Kenji figured it was more funds to sustain them while in hiding.

Kenshin accepted the envelope and quietly thanked the man.

Silence reigned in the little hut once more as the three men quietly sipped their tea.

"Will you be spending the night, Iizuka-san?" Asked Kenji. "Kenshin is a pretty decent cook if I do say so myself."

Iizuka slowly blinked. He never figured the Battoussai was good for anything more than assassinating people. He was pretty surprised when he came a little while ago and saw the hitokiri in the garden. If he didn't know any better, he would actually believe that the two people living in this cabin were brothers and that they were farmers to boot. No wonder the Hitokiri Battoussai was so dangerous – he can blend in anywhere he wanted.

He gulped. He didn't want to spend the night with an assassin but he had to gather as much information on these people as much as possible, as soon as possible. He didn't want to die anytime soon. "That is most kind of you, Kamiya-san. It is getting pretty late," he said and glanced at the setting sun through one of the windows. The cabin was basked in a golden glow. He looked at Himura the Battoussai apprehensively. "That is if it's okay with you, Himura-san."

"It's no trouble at all," was the simple reply.

"Maybe you should get started on that dinner, ne Kenshin? Afterall, we have a guest."

The Battoussai simply nodded, politely excused himself from the table and obediently started gathering the materials he needed to prepare dinner. Iizuka was amazed at whatever powers the Kamiya boy held over the most feared assassin of the Ishin Shishi. He has never witnessed such a thing before – Kenshin Himura cooking! He didn't know how long his mouth had been gaping open, but the Kamiya boy's voice shook him out of his trance.

"I'll just go and finish up with the garden and put away the gardening tools. Make yourself comfortable, Iizuka-san."

"H-Hai, Kamiya-san. Would you like some help?" _Please say yes. _He silently pleaded in his mind. He didn't know why, but he felt ill at ease being around the Battoussai by himself. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly, but there was something different about Himura now.

"That's alright, it'll be just a second." Kenji responded and disappeared outside the door. Sounds of someone gathering tools and placing them beside the hut could be heard just outside the small house while Kenshin was calmly preparing their meal.

Iizuka fidgeted uncomfortably from his spot. _It's okay. They don't know anything. Just act natural and you'll be okay. Just observe them and do your job._

It was easier said than done but he did it.

He had to swallow hard and eat tiny pieces so as not to choke himself through the course of the meal but he did it. He made it. Observing the pair was an experience like no other.

The older redhead seemed to take utter delight in tormenting and teasing the Battoussai.

What was most surprising about everything - not regarding the fact that the meal was delicious or the fact that the meal was prepared by a feared assassin – was that the hitokiri allowed himself to be teased and sometimes, miracle of miracles, even teased right back! Iizuka felt like he was having dinner with a family, not just a couple of friends or comrades who are hiding out in a remote location from the Shogun's Army.

"That was good, ne? Enjoy your meal, Iizuka-san?" Kenji asked as he placed his chopsticks beside his now empty rice bowl and patted his satisfied belly.

"Hai, thank you for the meal, Himura-san."

Kenshin nodded and watched Iizuka carefully. Out of all the Ishin, he spent the most time with Iizuka before Kenji came because Iizuka was the one who gave him his assignments and he was also the one who cleaned up after him. The man seemed as fidgety as a newborn calf from the moment he stepped into the hut and the Battoussai couldn't figure out why. Kenji seemed oblivious to the man's discomfort. Or if he could tell, he was sure doing a good job hiding it. The boy continued to make small conversations with the man, telling him about their recent accomplishments.

"Maybe when the war is over, Kenshin and I could go into farming," Kenji was boasting to Iizuka.

The Ishin Shishi ally laughed, hoping that it didn't sound false. He felt like Himura the Battoussai was trying to bore a hole into his skin. _Did he know?_

**……**

The sun was just rising as a rooster crowed at a distance when sounds of metal clashing against were heard throughout the forest.

_Duck. Thrust. Slash. Parry. Yawn. Slash. Duck. Yawn. Duck. Hooo… I see an opening! Hah! Take that scurvy fiend! Duck. Yawn. Yawn. Parry. Yawn. Blah. I'm still sleepy. Hm, I wonder what we're having for breakfast today. I'm craving fish, I think. But it's a bit early for fish, isn't it? Feh! After this, I should be able to work up an appetite enough to eat a horse. What the… Ow! _"Hey! That hurt!" Kenji protested and rubbed his arm gingerly, trying to brush the pain away. They were supposed to be _practicing_, not killing each other. He widened his eyes just a bit and glared at his father to make it clear that he didn't appreciate getting hit by the hilt of the hitokiri's sword.

The Battoussai lowered his katana. "Pay attention, Kenji-chan." He severely reprimanded the older redhead. For someone who accused him of not paying attention a lot, he sure wasn't paying much attention now. The kid seemed to have a knack for losing concentration in the middle of a battle and that didn't sit well with him. Mistakes like that were hardly acceptable in training and it could cost him his life in the battlefield.

The Battoussai's eyes were pure amber when Kenji looked at him, and Kenji resisted the intense urge to flinch and apologize to his father. "Does the word **practice **mean anything to you?" He inquired, stalling for time.

"You must treat our skirmishes as real battles. If I were part of the Shogunate's army, you would have been dead by now."

His arm was still stinging from the blow Kenshin gave him. "I want a do-over!"

"In the battlefield, the enemy will not grant you this "do-over" when he aims to take your life. This is war, not a game."

_Good point._ "Well, did you have to hit so hard?" Kenji whined.

"You should take our practices more seriously, Kenji-chan. As you said, we cannot afford to let our skills get rusty." Kenshin said ardently. His paranoia about his son's safety troubled him greatly each day.

"Psh! I have the Hiten Mitsurugi Style **and **the Kasshin Style under my belt. What do I have to worry about?"

"One cannot also afford to be over-confident in these times." The young hitokiri advised wisely.

"Yes, Buddha incarnate." Kenji mocked as he bowed condescendingly. "Can we take a break yet? Aren't you tired?"

"We need more practice." Scarface frowned at him. "We only just begun several minutes ago. Surely you're not ready to give up yet. You and I have barely just begun."

"But I'm still sleepy and I'm getting hungry."

"When I trained with shishou, I wasn't allowed to complain. I woke up when **he** decided it was time to wake up, I ate when **he** decided that it was time to eat and I practiced when **he** decided it was time to practice. He allowed no room for error and I tried to deliver what he wanted as best I could."

"Well _excuse me_ for being a mere mortal, Kenshin." He complained fretfully. Ever since Iizuka left two days ago, the Battoussai had been rearing his ugly hitokiri head, giving him training fit for the likes of Seijuro Hiko XIII himself. Kenji couldn't figure out what had gotten into his young father. He seemed driven to train even harder than before. He wished they could work on the garden again, but after they planted the seeds, all they had to do was watch out for bugs and water them to make them grow. It left them a lot of free time once more.

"Let's resume."

Kenji grumbled as he crouched into a defensive position and waited for Kenshin to attack. In his mind, since, technically, he's been able to beat Kenshin in the past and keep up with him during their first battle, he thought that he was the better fighter. Even during their previous practices, he's managed to stay ahead of the hitokiri, but either he really was getting rusty or his father was actually improving each practice. It's like the man could read his mind now, Kenji had to continuously improvise and rethink his strategy to stay ahead of the game.

_I'm not getting rusty, am I? _The thought disturbed him greatly. _I think I'm just taking it easy on him because he's my father. Yeah, that's it…_

He almost missed the katana aimed straight at his forehead. He dived at the last possible second, avoiding the blade by less than a centimeter at most. He gracefully rolled over and prepared for another blow that never came.

Kenshin growled. Yes, his father actually growled at him. Kenji blinked. He's done his fair share of aggravating his father before, but Kenshin seemed really irritated and disturbed about his near miss with the katana.

No matter how many times he tells Kenji-chan to pay attention to the mock-battle, the kid always spaces out in the middle of an attack. He knew they were only practicing, and it wasn't like he was actually going to do anything to hurt Kenji, because that was the farthest thing from his mind, but he couldn't help but feel extremely bothered whenever he found a weakness after another in his son. He knew nobody was perfect, even his own son, but the kid lacked the killer instinct and paranoia that he possessed.

He viewed that as a good thing, he still does. Sometimes though, it was a hindrance in their training. The kid just allowed himself to be so damn trusting of just about anything and everything.

Kenshin feared that someone would take advantage of Kenji's trusting nature someday and cause his downfall.

"Pay. Attention." The Battoussai grit out each word, his voice was full of venom.

"Boy, somebody's extra grumpy today." Kenji mumbled quietly. He wanted to crack a joke or say some sarcastic remark but the look on his father's face deterred him. He guessed he'd have to take this practice and every other practice after this seriously if he didn't want his father to go all hitokiri on him. "Gomen. Gomen nasai. I'll pay attention now."

The Battoussai didn't look like he believed him. "I swear!" He reiterated.

"Are you sure this time? I will not accept anything less than your full attention, Kenji."

He gulped. No more "–chan" at the end. That must mean that the other samurai was really serious.

Kenji slowly placed his sword back in its scabbard. He relaxed his body and shook his limbs to loosen them up, shaking the stress out of his shoulders as well, determined to take this practice session seriously from now on. After cracking his knuckles menacingly to show that he meant business, he presented the Battoussai with his right hand, palm up. He gestured his fingers forward in an obvious challenge and smirked. "Bring it on, Father."

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**A/N: **LOL! Every time I finish a chapter, I tell myself to wait uploading it until I finish the next one after that, or maybe a month or two or until I finish the whole story because I couldn't concentrate on anything else except checking out the reviews and trying to think of what to do with the next chapter, but I couldn't help but upload the story as soon as I finish it! ROFL

Ermmm… yeah, that was totally useless. :P

:sigh: I hope you peeps liked this chapter... seemed totally worthless to me, but that's all I've got after a somewhat disappointing eppy of SG1. Mannn... couldn't they have at least gotten together formally! GRRR!


	20. Special Dinner

**A/N:** Waaaaah! I'm so sorry! I think this was the longest chapter I had to wait before I was able to update. Stuff caught up to me and I wasn't able to write for days… and it turned into weeks:o( Heh, and I've been uh… watching movies. Heh, I recently got into Card Captors and Gundam Seed… so my Kenshin muse has been absent. :sweats profusely under Hitokiri Yumemi's gaze: Gomen nasai! I'll upload this chapter right now, so I won't have a very long A/N… as much as I'd love to reply to everyone's reviews. Don't forget to review… what pushed me to finish this chapter in one sitting is Yumemi's review! ROFL It scared me, that it did!

**I don't own Kenshin. **If I did though, I'd have Kenshin give me a backrub each night while Aoshi massages my foot and Saitou fans me with an abnormally large feather-fan… ermmm… yeah… :coughs discreetly: back to the story…

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**CHAPTER 19**

Oh yes, he brought it alright. His sadistic father brought **IT**, plus some!

"I swear if you call me "baka deshi", I'm going to rip your precious jewels out and stuff them down your throat."

If he had the energy, he would've put more bluster into his threat, but he didn't, so the promise of impending harm didn't sound that dangerous to the other man.

"You did good, Kenji-chan." Kenshin seemed amused and opted to ignore Kenji's promise of mortal peril. "If you pay attention like that each time, you actually won't find the training sessions so hard." He complimented his son.

Kenji wished he had a witty comeback for his father, but the aches and pains of his body were numbing his mind. He couldn't think. He wanted to just crawl back under his futon and sleep. He couldn't figure out how Kenshin could be so preppy and cheery each morning. He wasn't a morning person. More often than not, Kenshin had to usually wake him up to get him started. He was more of a nighttime person. The hard ground seemed really comfortable at the moment, his aching muscles were soothed by the cold surface. He yawned and settled himself a bit more comfortably on the earthen bed. If he used his imagination just right, he could even pretend that he was laying down on his warm, comfy futon right now… and he started to doze off.

The Battoussai walked over to where his son was laying down on the cold earth and prodded him with his right toe. He couldn't believe the kid could actually take a nap right then and there. "Let's go, Kenji-chan. I have to do the laundry today. If you keep laying down on the ground like that, you'll get more dirt on your clothes than you've already had." When he got no response, he prodded just a bit harder, which could be described as short of a kick to the ribs of the redhead on the ground.

Kenji groaned dramatically and struggled to get up, trying to gain some sympathy from his heartless father. He slowly sat up and gave his father a withering look. "I think I'm dying. If I offended you in some way, we could have at least talked it out first, you know. There was no need to beat the crap out of me."

Kenshin chuckled. "If you survived training with Shishou then I know for sure that our morning exercise was nothing compared to his. Come on, get up." When his son made no move to get up, he decided to go with bribery. "Didn't you say you were hungry?"

Kenji grumbled some more, but he stood up. He swore he heard his bones creak or something. He wasn't sure though, because if they did creak, he couldn't hear them from all the growling that his empty stomach was making. "This is child abuse!" He looked at his father accusingly as he stepped beside the man.

"I cook for you, do your laundry, help you train and do my best to protect you." Kenshin counted one deed after another. "How is that child abuse?"

The older redhead sighed, exasperated. "I don't know why exactly, I can't think with an empty stomach, but I say so and that's that." He covered his mouth with his hand and yawned. He went straight to sleep right after they reached home and woke up only when breakfast was ready.

Life was good.

…

"Can't you give it to us for a little bit cheaper than that ma'am? Onegai?" The redhead begged and looked at the vendor pleadingly, bowing over and over again to make his appeal.

The middle-aged woman from behind the stall struggled with herself a bit. Part of her wanted to give the redhead the goods for free because he was so kawaii and kind, but the businesswoman in her didn't want to lower the price at all. The redhead was a shrewd bargainer though, and she felt herself succumb to his requests and lowered the price after several minutes. The boy who looked like his younger brother seemed a bit uncomfortable, he was standing at a small distance from his older brother.

She lowered the price just a bit and almost felt sorry that the keen bargainer had to go.

"Arigato!" Kenji thanked the lady profusely and walked towards Kenshin happily with his purchases in tow. He dropped several pieces into the bag that Kenshin was carrying and rubbed his hands with glee.

"Why do you always insist on haggling with the vendors?"

"It's one of those traits you pass on to me in the future."

"I've never haggled with the vendors before. Are you telling the truth?" The Battoussai asked his son skeptically. He didn't know whether to believe his son or not. He had that evil gleam in his eyes.

"Hai! Believe me you do." It wasn't really true since his father in his time wasn't home enough for him to observe a lot of his vendor-haggling traits, but he didn't see anything wrong with feeding his father white lies, so he didn't feel any remorse whatsoever. In fact, he thought to himself, he felt that Kenshin could learn a thing or two from all the heckling, haggling, begging, flirting and any other means he's employed to get the vendors to lower their prices for him in the future. He figured his father would thank him later.

After making the Battoussai feel guilty about the strenuous practice he put him through this morning, Kenji managed to convince the hitokiri to make a quick trip to the market today. He was sort of getting tired of their usual vegetable and fish diet and was longing for a slight change in menu. Having lived in the Meiji Era, he was used to occasional Western perks. Perks that were so rare or weren't even available in the Bakamatsu yet. It was one of those downsides of being stuck in the past like he was.

A train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto: .33 Yen. Several slices of a western dessert called cake: .10 Yen. Spending time with his estranged father in the Bakamatsu: Priceless.

His mother was rather fond of cakes back when she was still alive. Her good friend Miss Misao would occasionally drop by and bring them Western goodies. Both women were big fans of the Western candy called chocolate. Tsunan Tsukiyoka, the news reporter and close childhood friend of Sanosuke Sagara, brought them a chocolate cake one day, and his mother went bananas over it. She positively loved it that she would have adopted Tsunan into the family if he allowed it.

He highly doubted that anyone sold chocolates or cakes in this time and place, he didn't even know if they sold it in Kyoto. He was sure nobody sold it in this town though so he didn't get his hopes up. He set his eyes on something different but special nonetheless, for tonight.

"What exactly are you planning?" Kenshin asked as he tried to make sense of their purchases.

"It's a surprise so just sit back and relax. And stop complaining!"

"I wasn't complaining, Kenji-chan."

"Well, I didn't ask you to come, I don't know why you insisted on coming when I could've gotten the ingredients by myself." He paused as he scowled at his father. "I'm a grown man, you know. I don't need you hovering over me to hold my hand if I stumble."

Kenshin shifted uncomfortably under his son's gaze and quickly thought of an excuse. "I wanted to get out of the hut, that is all. It has been a long time since we went to town."

"Right… and I'm the King of England!"

"Well, you do a great job of overseeing such a great country from an Asian Nation, your majesty."

Kenji could've sworn he heard the sound of his jaw dropping to the ground. "Was that… did you… Was that a joke, Kenshin? Did you just crack a joke?" He asked disbelievingly.

The Battoussai sweatdropped in annoyance. "It's only funny if you get it," he muttered.

Kenji laughed. "Gomen. Gomen ne. I was just so surprised…" His words trailed off as he laughed belatedly again. "Come on," he said as he put an arm around the younger man's shoulders and rubbed a knuckle on his head – he was actually several inches taller than his small father so it was easy to give him a noogie. "Let's finish up so we can get back home and I can get started on that scrumptious meal I've been dreaming about ever since I got here."

The pair set off in the direction of the meat stand, Kenji half-dragging Kenshin all over the marketplace before he was finally satisfied and decided to head for home.

……

"Just wait right there and I'll call you when dinner's ready, okay?" Kenji-chan told him that years ago… or so it seemed. When they arrived home, Kenji wanted him to stay outside while he prepared the food. He insisted, since Kenshin pointed out earlier today, that he's been doing most of the household chores, not to mention the one who cooks for them everyday, it was time for Kenji to show him what he can do as well.

He didn't mind doing the laundry or doing the chores, actually. He liked taking care of his son. Didn't Kenji-chan tell him that he liked doing household chores in the future before? He was getting soft already. He shook his head at the thought and listened to the sounds of nature outside their little hut.

Otsu was such a quiet place with friendly people. The neighbors' kids sometimes liked to visit and play with them. Kenshin was still the top champion although Kenji might have a thing or two to say about that. The kid was too competitive for his own good, or his father's for that matter.

Things were really slow in the life of the Himuras right now, but it was never boring. Nothing in the Battoussai's life was mundane anymore ever since he met Kenji. A ghost of a smile graced his face.

He wondered what Kenji was doing and why he wasn't allowed to help. One would think that the kid was engaged in a battle from the sounds coming from their kitchen.

Two slabs of meat, several vegetables, a jug of saké, some charcoal over an open fire, miso soup and a batch of steamed rice later…

"Tada!" Kenji proclaimed triumphantly as he presented his father with his prized masterpiece.

Their small hut was filled with delicious aromas that caused the Battoussai's stomach to rumble.

Kenji called him back in the hut several minutes ago, and after staring at the disaster his son had made in the kitchen, the young hitokiri turned his attention to the meal that Kenji had prepared.

Both of them were seated at their table. Kenji looked pretty pleased with himself.

"Anou… what is this?" Kenshin asked as he poked at the big piece of meat that his son placed in front of him at the dinner table. It looked really appetizing, and he briefly wondered how he was going to handle it with his chopsticks when Kenji waved a small knife in front of his face. If it were anybody else, the young hitokiri would have turned the knife around and stabbed it right through the offending person's throat. Instead, his eyes followed the swaying of the knife. "Huh?"

"It's called a 'steak'. You use a small knife to cut it in tiny pieces first and then you eat it. You usually have to use a fork with the knife but we don't have any." Kenji explained as he held both of his chopsticks in his left hand and the knife in the other. He told Kenshin to watch carefully and closed his eyes. He looked deep in concentration as he held the knife in front of his face.

Kenshin didn't know what a fork was, but he was intrigued by the 'steak'. And if the Battoussai had blinked, he would have missed it. Kenji moved in the speed of light, effectively cutting his steak into even, horizontal proportions. Kenshin resisted a strong urge to clap his hands in appreciation of his son's exceptional skills.

"Now you try it."

He picked up the small knife beside him and recalled how his son did it.

It took him less than five seconds to execute the same moves Kenji did. The piece of meat fell into even proportions on his plate.

"Sugoi! Sugoi! Now let's eat! Itadakimatsu!" Kenji broke off his chopsticks and started gulping down his food like there was no tomorrow. While he stuffed his face with the soup, lots of rice and more meat at the same time, Kenshin ate at a slower pace, savoring the food that was new to him.

"Was that some secret Hiten Mitsurugi move?" Kenshin couldn't help but ask Kenji in between chewing his food. "Did you just teach me something that I wasn't supposed to know yet?"

Kenji waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, I've seen you do that once before and have since tried to imitate it," he explained. "There was nothing special about it."

The Battoussai was torn between frowning, laughing or both. He was never going to admit to anybody that he thought the kid used a special Hiten Mitsurugi move on the piece of meat.

They enjoyed the scrumptious meal companionably. His son was a good cook.

* * *

……

**A/N:** Hehe, yes, I was aiming for Kenshin's steak-carving antics in the Prince Yahiko episode. Rofl I really didn't have any idea as to where to take this chapter, or the ones after that for that matter… so be prepared for more nonsense in the upcoming chapters. :o) I also didn't have time to thank everyone properly, because I wanted to upload the chapters as soon as I finished them, I was feeling more than a bit guilty for not updating for so long. ;;

Thanks for all the reviews! I don't think I would have been able to write again if not for them… I was feeling really lazy. ;; All I could think of was playing games and watching movies/tv. ;; Gomen!


	21. The chicken, the egg, birds and bees

**A/N: **Heh, this chapter may not make much sense (or does it… hehehe) but I thought about this one night and here it is… because I feel like I owe you two chapters for making you wait a long time for Chapter 19.

……

* * *

**- CHAPTER 20 -**

Even though their life in the mountains were boring compared to their life in the hustle and bustle of Kyoto, father and son could never be as content as they were right now.

Their days were mostly spent training, making sure their garden was free of pests and leisure. They talked about the war from time to time, each wondering to the other if they were going to be called back and when they were going to be called back.

Kenji didn't really know much about this part of his father's past, so everything was new to him as well. Sometimes, he even found himself wishing that they weren't going to be called back to Kyoto. A foolish dream, he knew, because Kenshin would be playing an important role in the war, but he still dared to dream if not for him then for his father. During the days spent with the young hitokiri, he gained a new perception of him. A newfound respect for his conviction and beliefs that allowed him to endure the trials of the horrific job that was entrusted to him, the Guardian of Chaos.

He did what he could to make his father feel as normal as possible. Did what he could to bring a little joy into his father's life, how small it may seem. It's the little things that count afterall. It may seem a bit unorthodox at times, but he thought it was working.

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

The Battoussai's reaction to the unexpected question was a mere raising of his brow.

"Well?" Kenji persisted, obviously waiting for Kenshin to answer his query.

The young hitokiri shrugged indifferently. "The egg?"

"Nande? Why do you say that the egg came first?"

"Because the chicken hatches from the egg, so if there is no egg, then there won't be a chicken?" The Battoussai briefly wondered why Kenji asked such a question but the fact that the boy **was** Kenji was an explanation unto itself. He was sort of proud of his explanation too. It made perfect sense to him and he almost smiled.

"But if the egg came first and the chicken has to hatch from it, the egg wouldn't hatch now, would it?"

Now he was perplexed. "Why not?"

"Because the chicken has to sit on the egg in order for it to hatch, and if the egg came first, then there won't be a chicken to incubate the egg, causing it to hatch."

He had a good point, Kenshin admitted to himself. "Errr… so I guess the chicken came first then?"

"How come?"

Kenshin sweatdropped as he looked at his son. "You just told me why."

"But where did the chicken come from?"

"The egg?"

"So are you saying that the egg came first then?"

"I… guess…" He really didn't know why they were having this conversation, or why he was even participating in it. What did it matter if the chicken or the egg came first?

"But you just said that the chicken came first!" They were going around in circles. His son had a valid argument as well, but he wasn't about to admit it. He was getting confused by it all.

He looked at Kenji through narrowed eyes. "Because you told me that the egg wouldn't hatch if the chicken doesn't sit on it."

"And then I asked you where the chicken came from."

The Battoussai sighed and ran his right hand through his hair in an effort to make sense of the situation. "The egg of course."

"So you're saying that the egg came first?"

The amusement in his son's voice made him want to scream. "Anou, is there any reason why you're asking me these questions, Kenji-chan?" He couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice.

Kenji shook his head. "Nah, actually, I wanted to ask you if we can go to town and get some clothes today." He picked at his gi and presented a tattered sleeve to Kenshin. "I'm starting to look like a beggar."

"And the reason why you asked me which came first between the chicken and the egg is…?" He tried once more, trying to make sense of the kid.

"No reason, I was just curious is all."

The Battoussai had to resist a strong urge to pound his head against something hard.

……

"You want the truth?"

"Hai."

"You can't handle the truth, Kenshin!"

"Come on, be honest."

Kenji sighed. His father can be so difficult sometimes. "It looks good on you, don't worry." He assured for the tenth time in the past couple of minutes.

The Battoussai grit his teeth together in an effort not to shout at his son and fisted his hand so he wouldn't strangle the kid either. _Must not kill son… must not kill son… must not kill son… _he repeated over and over to himself.

The day started out like any normal day in the lives of the Himuras, but things started to turn downhill when they went to town. Kenji wanted to get more clothes, as if he wasn't satisfied enough that Kenshin had a pile of laundry to do everyday, citing that he didn't really have a lot of clothes with him, and they were starting to wear out.

He was right, too. His clothes were worn out. He explained to Kenshin that those were the same clothes that he had brought with him to Hiko-sama's house for his training and he didn't have much time for shopping or sightseeing when he was living with their Shishou.

Since he found it hard to say no to the kid, the Battoussai relented and accompanied him to town despite the kid's protests.

Kenji wasn't picky in choosing his garments and it didn't take them long to finish their business in town. However, something caught the kid's eye and whimsically bought it for his beloved father.

Kenshin was grateful for the kid's thoughtfulness, but he **really **shouldn't have. Really. It's not that he didn't appreciate the gift but…

"It's pink!" He exclaimed, looking a bit horrified in a pink gi that his son picked out for him earlier.

"No it's not, it's fuchsia."

"It's pink." He said again, picking at the offensive gi that adorned his body. He was not going to be caught dead wearing such a girly thing. The only reason why he was wearing the thing right now was because Kenji had insisted that he try it on, pleading with him with those pitiful eyes that he did – and immediately regretted.

It was bad enough that he wasn't a tall man and was often mistaken for a woman. Being mistaken for a girl because of one's size and looks was one thing. Wearing girly colors was another.

It was humiliating.

He didn't know why he let the kid talk him into even trying it on. If anybody ever saw him in pink, he was never going to live it down. He was going to be a laughingstock! "Real men don't wear pink," he muttered.

"Only **true** men can pull off wearing pink," Kenji countered. "Besides, it looks good on you –"

The Battoussai clutched a sleeve of the pink gi as he lifted his arm and made to take it off. "No it doesn't and you can't **pay **me to wear pink. I'd rather go naked!"

Kenji laughed. "I'm sure you'll change your mind in the future, Kenshin." His eyes twinkled in amusement. "You don't have to wear it **now**. Just tuck it away for future use." His father didn't seem too happy with the suggestion. "It's my gift to you, you don't intend to hurt my feelings by throwing it away, do you?"

He tried not to grimace as he found himself caving in again. "Arigatou for the gift, Kenji-chan." He tried to keep his voice neutral and tried to sound thankful. "I really do appreciate it." He choked out reluctantly. He didn't want to hurt his son's feelings. And besides, Kenji was right. It was fuchsia, not pink, he convinced himself. Perhaps, he continued to reason with himself, he could wear it someday, in the future if he doesn't have any other options left at all. Like if, for some reason, he became penniless and could no longer afford to buy clothes or if he had nothing else to wear or people stopped making clothes. There was absolutely no way in the fires of hell that he was going to be caught dead wearing that thing.

The Battoussai felt immensely better once he took the offensive garment off, and he tucked it at the bottom part of his clothes pile, away from prying eyes lest they have some visitors and spy a pink garment in his wardrobe. He shuddered once more as he put his normal non-girly colored gi back on.

"I don't know why you're so concerned about what you look in it or not anyway," the son remarked to the father. "It's not like you want to impress the ladies or anything…" He trailed off and looked at his father suspiciously. "That's not what you want to do, is it? Do you want to impress some girl aside from my mother?" His voice had taken on an accusatory tone by the time he finished his sentence, causing his father to shake his head in denial.

"No, no, that's not it at all." Kenshin continued to shake his head as he waved his arms in a pacifying manner. "If I wear that pink ensemble anyway, I don't think you'll ever be born, I don't know how your mother would like a man who wears pink," he spit the last word out like it was venom.

Kenji laughed at him. "Believe it or not, you wear pink when she met you." The Battoussai didn't believe a single word of it and he raised his brow in question. "I swear!" he reiterated. "Come on, am I not proof enough that the ladies… or at least one of them will fall prey to your good-looks and charm in the future?" He teased. When his father remained silent, he continued, "Just trust your instincts and everything else will fall into place. I do, however," he looked at his father sternly, "advice you not to dally with other women."

Kenshin looked at his son cluelessly. Why would he want to dally with other women when he knows for sure that one special woman will be waiting for him in Tokyo?

"Stay away from Teahouses and geishas, do you hear me?" Kenshin nodded at his son's serious look. "You're better off holding out until you're married. You um… do know how it works, don't you, Kenshin?" Purple eyes watched a baffled face closely.

"Know what works?" he looked utterly bewildered.

Kenji coughed to cover his embarrassment and slight amusement. He didn't think he'd be the one to give his **father** of all people, 'the talk', but he guessed that he was probably the most qualified and the only person up for the job. Kenshin wasn't going to be going back to Hiko-sama in the near future, nor was he going to get married anytime soon from the looks of it… Suddenly feeling a strong sense of self-preservation, thinking that if his father bundled any intimate relations with his mother (just the mere thought of it sent the hairs on the back of his neck to rise), would therefore prevent his birth, he made a firm decision.

Kenji cleared his throat. "Girls, Kenshin, are like birds." He decided to give the younger redhead examples to spare them the embarrassment of the technicalities. He figured that his father would be able to figure out the rest by himself. He just needed to guide him in the right direction was all. "And the guys," he continued, "are like bees. When you find a girl that you like, preferably my mother and my mother alone," he said forbiddingly, "you will want to sting. It's okay to sting, but only after you're married, you got that?"

Kenshin flushed in embarrassment, wishing he could crawl under a rock and die. His son was giving him **the **talk which, in his opinion, **he **should be giving Kenji in the future, and not the other way around as what the case was right now. Nothing can be more embarrassing than this. He had truly hit rock bottom.

"There comes a time Kenshin," Kenji looked knowingly at his father through hooded eyelids, "when you're going to want to sting." He coughed some more to cover up the awkwardness of the situation, and seemed to gain a bit more confidence as he continued a bit more enthusiastically. "Usually, you have to watch out for the daddy birds, because they don't want their daughter birds to be stung until the right time comes, but in your case, I don't think that'll matter much."

The Battoussai was too disconcerted to do more than give his son a small, stiff nod.

Kenji spent several minutes explaining the facts of life to his father, quite proud of the euphemisms he employed to get his point across.

Kenshin was thinking to himself that he was never going to recover from the shock and embarrassment of it all. 'The talk' would probably give him more emotional scars than from the fact that he was a man-slayer.

"Do you have any questions?" He looked quite pleased with himself. He felt like he actually accomplished something, for the first time ever since he was stuck in this era.

"Well," Kenshin cleared his throat this time, "I do have one question."

"Go on, feel free to ask me anything."

"Anything?"

He nodded. "Anything." He blocked out images of his outousan and okaasan throughout their discussion from his mind, replacing them with images of birds and bees instead. It was the only way he could keep his sanity intact.

The Battoussai didn't even crack a small smile. "If girls are birds and guys are bees, how come there's a daddy bird?"

……

* * *

Yay! I was able to finish that while watching McGyver. :oP Please don't forget to review! The reviews are the only things that make me update. 


	22. Peddling

**A/N:** Ah! Alright, before anything else, and before I forget! I think lolol popoki lives in Florida, ne? I hope you stay safe, dude! I heard there's one Category 5 hurricane there right now and I can't begin to imagine how a Class 5 will be, considering the damage that Class 4 Ivan wrecked last year. Stay safe!

And I do know who Athrun Zala is, Hitokiri Yume! I love him, too! And I love that line from Heero Yuy as well. :p

UUUUUUUUUUUUGH. I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. I actually had about three chapters done before my computer decided to die. I'm so heartbroken. My RK muse died with it, I feel like I need to watch the whole series again to regain my writing muse. I'm now trying to re-write whatever I had written, but after months of not being on RK mode, it's kinda hard. It's just not the same.

I was actually going to start writing sooner, but there's one review that accused me of "using exact words" from someone or other and that irritated me a lot. I admit to taking snippets of conversation from movies, but I give credit to them and I even accidentally copied that ONE LINE from Bunny's time travel fic a lot, one line which I CHANGED because it BOTHERED ME A LOT, and someone accusing me of actually copying from some fic just bleeping irritated the hell out of me that I lost momentum. This chapter even has a line from LOTR, and I think 7th Heaven. I can't help it, I remember writing it in, even though it's not the same as before.

My muse is a sucker for reviews, but he's very sensitive to criticism, so if you don't have anything good to say, please shut the heck up. This fic used to be fun for me, so I updated as much as I can. And then I started getting some reviews that made me want to claw my eyes out and it just killed my muse. HOPEFULLY, I found a new one… hopefully. He was 'given' to me by a friend, so we'll see how long he lasts. It's summer, so we'll see about the updates.

I also developed a new hobby, which keeps me away from most of the time, that's why I haven't updated for so long. ;;

Anyway, sorry for the rant. On with the fic…

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

Kenji was walking along a familiar path. He recognized it as the forest near their humble home and he breathed in the fresh mountain air as snow began to fall upon the magnificent landscape.

He turned his face toward the sky to bask in its rays and catch a few snowflakes as well. He had always loved snow. It was like a blanket of beauty, promising whoever comes across it untold fun and limitless adventure. The snow was cold, but it gave him a warm feeling of contentment.

He gathered up a bit of snow into his hand and squeezed them together, forming a compact ball. A patented evil grin graced his face as he thought about sending the snowball flying into his father's face. His father needed to loosen up once in a while, and he was pleased that the stoic hitokiri would actually crack a joke or two once in a blue moon.

He ignored the cold that penetrated his skin as he doubled and redoubled the size of the snowball on his palm until it was three times the size of his fist. Deciding that his father was probably in his usual spot at the front porch of their hut, he made his way back quietly, snowball in hand.

From the distance, he could see a small silhouette of a man. Creeping up silently behind him, Kenji took him off-guard and sent his huge snowball right smack into his father's head.

The Battoussai didn't even move an inch. He just continued to sit there, unfazed by his encounter with the snowball. He didn't look back either. Kenji wondered if Kenshin even felt his collision with the snowball and frowned. He picked up more snow from the ground and formed another ball of snow before he tentatively made his way to the front porch to face Kenshin. He sucked in his breath when he came face to face with the hitokiri.

The young assassin was openly crying. Tears flowed freely from his eyes to his cheeks and soaked the front part of his gi. He also seemed to be in a daze, therefore explaining why he didn't show any reaction when Kenji hit him with the snowball.

The half-formed ball of snow fell into the ground as Kenji rushed to his father's side. "Kenshin?" He asked uncertainly. He felt like he was intruding on a private moment, but at the same time, he wanted to know why his father was so sad. He wanted to help. "Daijoubu ka, Kenshin?"

The Battoussai remained silent as he continued to openly cry.

Kenji's frown deepened and he became determined to find out what the cause of Kenshin's sorrow was. He fixed worried purple eyes on his father's face and noticed belatedly that the man's cheek was bleeding. He gasped. "Kenshin! Your wound! Does it hurt?" As he walked towards Kenshin, he fumbled around his clothes for something to stop the bleeding of his father's cheek, chastising the man all the while. "You should have told me. Does it hurt? Does your wound hurt? Is that why…" he trailed off, not sure whether mentioning Kenshin's tears was going to be a good idea. He felt guilty, for he was the one who had given his father that wound. He only had good intentions at the time – he also had no choice since the hitokiri attacked him first. It was in self-defense, he never meant for his father to feel any lingering hurt because of their previous encounter. And besides, he reasoned with himself - Kenshin just wasn't Kenshin unless he had scars on his cheek. He didn't mean to cause his father any pain at all. "Gomen nasai, Kenshin. Here, let me clean that up for you."

When his father continued to ignore him, he started to get a little annoyed. He was only trying to help. How can he help if he was being brushed off? He sighed and stepped forward to wipe the blood away from his father's cheek. With his hand on a piece of cloth that seemed to materialize from nowhere, he reached up and made to swipe at his father's bloodstained cheeks.

His hand went right through his father's face, as if he was made out of air.

_What the hell? _He reached to wipe the blood away once more and got the same results. As he was lifting his arm for a third try, Kenshin suddenly seemed to snap out of his daze and looked right at him with violet eyes filled with sorrow.

His father was trying to talk to him, Kenji realized. Kenshin's mouth was opening and closing, as if he was talking, but no words were coming out of his mouth. He couldn't hear a single sound either.

"What?" Kenji asked, feeling more frustrated than ever. "I can't hear you." _What the heck is going on!_

Kenshin continued to cry as he talked to Kenji, but he couldn't hear a word of what his father was saying. "Speak louder," he urged his father as someone shook him.

"Kenji-chan, wake up."

Kenji abruptly opened his eyes and was met with the familiar sight of the ceiling of their hut. He bolted upright and blinked twice. Looking a bit dazed, he yawned as he rubbed his right hand over his eyes.

"Good, you're awake. We have a visitor."

He continued to rub his eyes and looked as his father quizzically as he sat on his futon curiously. "What happened to your cheek?"

The Battoussai absentmindedly touched his cheek. "What do you mean what happened to my cheek?"

"It was bleeding and you were crying when I hit you with that snowball, remember?"

Kenshin furrowed his brow at Kenji. "Anou… Kenji-chan, it's not even winter yet and my cheek hasn't bled for several weeks now." He touched his palm against the kid's forehead. "Are you coming down with a fever? You don't feel hot." He said thoughtfully. He was worried that he might have pushed the kid into training hard and then he got sick. He was acting a bit delusional with his questions. That or… "You were dreaming." It was said as a statement, not a question.

Kenji flushed in embarrassment, realizing that his father was right. "I guess I was. I forgot, it seemed so real." He grinned to cover up his mortification. Of course he can tell between the difference of dreams and reality! His excuse was that he just woke up, that's all.

"We have a visitor," the Battoussai repeated once more for Kenji's sake. He paused and looked Kenji in the eye. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He waved his father's concern away and nodded his head. "I'm alright, I'm just not a morning person is all. Who would visit us so early in the morning?" he half-complained and yawned once more. Getting up from his futon, he rolled it up and leisurely stretched. "I'm alright, Kenshin. Go on, I'll be right there." He nodded and almost had to push his father out of the little screen they had which separated the bedroom from the rest of the hut.

Making good use of the basin at the corner of the room, he washed the sleepiness away from his eyes and changed his clothes. Stepping out from behind the screen, he saw their friend Iizuka in what looked like a serious discussion with his father at the table. He didn't know if they were talking about confidential things, ones that he wasn't supposed to know since their voices were hushed, so he hesitated behind the thin screen. He debated with the little voices in his head if he should interrupt their discussion or not.

"You can come join us, Kenji-chan." His father's voice made him jump in surprise, he didn't know that Kenshin knew he was there. "No need to be eavesdropping in your own home." There was a hint of teasing in the Battoussai's voice that Kenji couldn't help but feel more than a bit embarrassed, especially after being called out in front of their friend.

He stepped out of the screen easily and joined the two men who were drinking some tea. "I wasn't dropping any eaves, Kenshin." He scowled at his father and gave Iizuka a friendly smile. "Ohayou, Iizuka-san. What brings you to our mountains so early?"

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Kamiya-san." Iizuka returned the greeting affably. "I just came to give you and Himura-san your usual update on what's going on in Kyoto. I also brought you some medicine you can mix and sell."

He met the Ishin Shishi's statement with a puzzled look.

"Katsura-san thought that two teenagers living by themselves with no visible means of supporting themselves would look suspicious so he thought you could sell some medicine as a front for your source of income," the spy explained.

"Ah," he said as understanding dawned upon him. Kogoro Katsura was a wise man for sure. He always had all the bases covered. No wonder he was such a prominent, powerful figure. He had a valid point. Neither of them had any jobs and prying eyes or nosy neighbors would eventually wonder how they supported themselves. Even if they grew most of their own vegetables, it still didn't explain the fact that they had cash to buy other supplies like rice and meat. Or shop for clothes like they did just recently. Their neighbors were friendly, especially to two 'orphaned' boys living by themselves, but it was human nature to pry and sooner or later, they were going to start to wonder how these two seemingly innocent boys supported themselves. It was a good plan indeed.

Iizuka explained that the directions on how to make medicine were included in the bag that he brought, all the ingredients needed and materials required were there as well. He also didn't stay for long; He left as soon as he finished his tea, explaining that he had more errands to run for Katsura and he needed to finish by nightfall.

After the two redheads bid him goodbye and finished their morning chores, they gathered around the medicine supplies and started unpacking it. Kenji looked at the instructions and figured it wasn't going to be hard to follow at all. Just to be on the safe side though, he let Kenshin handle all the mixing as he watched from the sidelines.

In the few months that he spent with his father, Kenji came to one definite conclusion. His father could do almost anything perfectly. 'Almost' being the keyword since from what he gathered and noted himself, Kenshin was as inept as most men were when it came to dealing with females. Still, he had to admit that when it came to everything else but women, Kenshin had mad skills.

"Mad skills?" The young hitokiri didn't know what that meant, if it actually meant anything. It took them – or rather **him **the whole day yesterday and the day before that after Iizuka-san left, while Kenji-chan watched and offered comments here and there - but he finally finished mixing, labeling and packing their medicinal goods by nightfall the previous day. Kenji was brimming with excitement of being a medicine salesman as they prepared to make a trip to town and complimented his father earlier. His father didn't know how having 'mad skills' had to do with anything though.

And that had been hours ago.

Here they were under the hot sun, past lunchtime and they still haven't sold a single thing. Not one! 'Kenji-chan' wasn't having a good day. He was wrong about his father's mad skills and told him so. "More like **no** skills," Kenji added and the Battoussai could've sworn he heard the words 'baka deshi' come out of his son's mouth as well.

Kenshin wondered why he received the blame regarding their lack of customers. He was an assassin, not a salesman. His shishou never trained him in the art of selling medicine. He thought that walking around town carrying the bag was enough to gain people's attention. If someone needed medicine surely they were going to stop them and buy it, right?

Wrong.

No one stopped to chat with them or inquire about their goods. No one even paid them much attention except for that old man who asked for directions. Kenji sighed; He was frustrated beyond belief. They were going to have to do something, fast.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Kenji-chan?" Apprehension laced his voice and his forehead wrinkled. He wasn't too keen on the idea but…

"Sure I'm sure, Kenshin! It's the only way," he bobbed his head up and down to show his father how sure he was.

Kenshin looked at his son uncertainly, doubtful if it was really going to work or not. The other redhead seemed to be so sure though so he sighed in defeat and lowered his head. "I'll try not to disappoint you Kenji-chan," he told the boy from beneath the hair that fell forward to cover his face; Famous last words and all.

The boy just smiled at him. "Just don't disappoint yourself, Kenshin. Ganbatte!"

"You're going to be the death of me, Kenji-chan," he murmured as he mentally braced himself. He inhaled and exhaled, looking like a man who had just been sentenced to receive the death penalty.

* * *

He failed. He has never experienced failure before, so the concept was new to him. He couldn't identify the emotion that came with it as well; it was foreign to him. He didn't understand how he could possibly be the one to blame for their poor sales. He did what he could, yet he got stuck with the blame. Kenji kept saying things like "you should have done this, you should have done that" and Kenshin couldn't help but wonder what the boy should have done himself instead of placing the blame squarely on his shoulders. Another bout of "you should have dones" and he was going to reach out and choke the kid. The boy seriously needed a lesson in respect; He was the father, he was the hitokiri. It wasn't his fault sales on their first day didn't reach Kenji's expectations.

He thought that he had just about made a fool of himself, acting like a circus barker, yet his son didn't seem to appreciate it. For their first time, it actually wasn't **that **bad, but they were both perfectionists and nothing was just good enough.

"Next time we should start earlier so we can cover more ground," Kenji was saying. The duo was on their way back to their little hut as the sun began its descent upon the horizon. Both of them were tired, and both of them were still a little sore at each other, each blaming the other for the not-so-good sales performance. As they passed by one of the establishments in the small town, a slight commotion gathered their attention.

"Please sir, we don't want any trouble. Just kindly take your business elsewhere and let's all forget that this ever happened." Said a balding middle-aged man. He was wringing his hands in agitation as he spoke to three portly men who seemed drunk and belligerent.

"You don't want any trouble? Well, trouble doesn't want you either! You and your stinking food! I want a refund and I want it now!" The most robust of the trio hiccuped and glared through bleary eyes at the quivering man. A crowd was starting to gather to witness the spectacle, and Kenji couldn't help but hover his hand on the hilt of his katana as the men pulled their swords out and started to threaten the bald man. "We want our money back!"

"But sir!" The proprietor protested, "You—you haven't paid your bill yet!"

"Are you calling my friend a liar!" Demanded one of the men.

"N-no! Of course not!" Replied the owner nervously. His Adam's apple was bobbing up and down; He looked really nervous.

Kenji decided it was time he stepped in and put an end to the nonsense. He took a step forward and started to push through the crowd that had gathered around the scene, but a hand stopped him. He turned and saw his father who was looking at him with those intense golden eyes of his. "What? Why did you stop me?" He inquired.

"It's best if we leave them to their own devices," Came the stoic reply.

His eyes bugged out incredulously. "What?" He whirled around and faced his father unbelievingly. Had he gone deaf from being out in the sun too long? "You want us to just stand by and do nothing!" He hissed.

Kenshin merely stared back at him with unreadable amber eyes. "What I want is for us to go home."

"Go. Home?" Was he serious? "You want us to just ignore this?" he waved an irritated hand at the ongoing drama, one which seemed like it was going to escalate into violence any minute now. He couldn't believe he was standing here arguing about whether to help or not with his father. He couldn't help but wonder where Kenshin's legendary hero-complex was today. Or if it even existed today. He frowned at the thought.

"It is best if we do not draw attention to ourselves and just mind our own business."

He scowled at the redhead. "All that evil needs to take over the world Kenshin, is for good men to stand by and do nothing." He turned his back and elbowed his way to the front, where the action was.

"Excuse me," He asked politely, "would you please leave that poor man alone, onegai? I don't think he enjoys being threatened and tossed around like a rag doll very much." The smile that he had on his face would have made his rurouni father proud.

"Nani? Who the hell are you?" Said thug number one.

"Oy kozou, mind your own business, why don't you." Added thug number two.

"You want a piece of this, gaki?" Said the leader thug.

Kenji mentally sighed, not letting the insults and name-calling get to him. He was too busy trying not to gag at the smellof the trio. They not only reeked of alcohol; they smelled like they were in dire need of a bath or five as well. "I'm merely a concerned citizen, that's all." He replied benignly.

"Leave us alone if you don't want to get hurt." Thug number two sniggered.

Shyeah, like that's going to happen, thought Kenji. "I don't wish for anyone to get hurt. Let's just all settle this calmly, alright?" He asked nicely. He really did. It wasn't his fault these three seemed to be the biggest bakas he has ever had the chance to encounter in this town. Three big bakas who were sleeping like babies at the cold, hard earth one point two seconds after they decided to attack him.

The owner thanked him profusely, offering him free saké, which he graciously accepted. His father didn't look happy with what he did though, if the frown directed at him and cold silence that reigned as they went back to their home was any indication. What was he so mad about? Kenshin didn't lift a single finger to help anyone; **he **was the one who had to do something. His frown deepened and he clutched the saké jug closer to his chest.

* * *

Three hours later…

"Are you just going to ignore me forever?"

No response.

It has been hours since they came back home and his father continued to ignore him. "Fine, be that way." He took out a cup and proceeded to celebrate happy hour. He was upset at his father for not wanting to help those poor people. Where did the Kenshin Himura he knew go? Where were the irritating hero urges that his father was so known for? Wasn't he the same person who abandoned his family to their own devices so he can help people in need?

He poured himself another cup as silence reigned.

A sudden thought occurred to him. Did Kenshin not posses the need to butt his nose into other people's business to help them because Kenji accidentally altered his life somehow? Once again, he found himself concerned and disturbed at the same time. How was this going to affect the rurouni that was his father?

Or maybe… the reason why Kenshin did not want to interfere earlier was because he didn't have those urges yet? He mentally nodded to himself. Yes, that must be it. Maybe it takes time before Kenshin developed an urge to go traipsing all over Japan, helping people. He was still young, he needed time to mature, that's all. And besides, he was just a teenager, so he wasn't really concerned about stuff like settling fights or helping people that aren't directly connected to his job in the Ishin Shishi… yes, that's it, he convinced himself as he swallowed another mouthful of saké.

If Kenshin was going to be stubborn about this, then so would he. He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't have anything to apologize for, therefore he did not owe anybody an apology. If his father was going to ignore him, then he couldn't have any of the delicious, warm, sweet-tasting rice wine.

* * *

Kenshin was still tightlipped and fuming over Kenji's actions. He realized for the first time how his shishou must have felt when he told him that he wanted to help people and stepped off that mountain. When Kenji had turned his back on him and decided to help those people instead, his protective instincts went sky-high and all he wanted to do was drag the kid back home and put him somewhere safe. Lately, he didn't feel very comfortable in the fact that if Katsura called for them, they would have to go back to war anytime now. Each visit from Iizuka-san filled Kenshin's heart with dread, and each time the messenger told them that they weren't needed yet, his heart rejoiced. He was being selfish, he knew that, but he couldn't help it. If he had a choice, he would live out the rest of the war with his son here in the countryside peacefully. He no longer wanted to put Kenji in harm's way.

It wasn't as if the boy lacked skills to protect himself, because he was very skilled. Call it hypocrisy, but he did not want any kin of his to be involved in anything dangerous. It was okay for him to be the one to put himself in danger, but it was another for his son to risk his life for others. On one hand he knew what he had to do and accepted it, but on the other… he just wanted it all to end. For his son's sake. Maybe, just maybe… when the time came and peace had finally settled in Japan, they could go back to that quaint little dojo in Tokyo.

Why wasn't he talking to the boy? Maybe it's because he realized that even if he forbid it, Kenji's need to help other people will override everything else. His father's opinion will not matter; his own safety will not matter. The last thought sent chills all over his body. He really did not want to see his son harmed, more than anything.

One more reason why he would have preferred it if Kenji didn't interfere with the earlier fight was because he did not want to draw attention to them. It was bad enough that their identical looks drew attention – red hair wasn't a common occurrence in Japan you know – but to top it all off, no one was going to miss how fast Kenji had reacted to the situation. It was bound to raise some eyebrows or at least perk curiosity about the duo. And they definitely did not need any kind of attention right now. They were supposed to be laying low.

Thunder rolled at a distance, signaling that it was going to rain. It matched the current moods of the occupants of the small hut. Neither one was really mad at the other, just overtly concerned.


	23. The Sound of Snow Falling

AAAH! Gomen, gomen ne! I forgot to include the Japanese translations at the end of the previous chapter. (blush)

**Gaki** – brat

**Kozou** – rude term for brat

**Gomen** – sorry

**Gomen nasai** – I apologize

**Daijoubu** – all right/okay

**Daijoubu ka **– are you alright? Are you okay?

**Futon** – Japanese style bedding

**Gozaimasu** – is a polite copula

**Onegai** – please

**Ganbatte** – do your best/hang in there/go for it!

**Shishou** – teacher

**Nani** – what 

**Abunai** – watch out/danger/dangerous

**Urusai** – shut up/be quiet

**Kami** – God

**Doko wa** – where are you

**Shinobi** – spy/thief

I did, I changed my name… I still couldn't decide what, but I think I'll stick with this one for now. (sweatdrops)

I don't know how long this story will go on for, when I first started it, I didn't think that it would go on beyond 20 Chapters at most, but then I took that break. (sweatdrops) I'm hoping to end it soon, so that I can pay more attention to the other plot bunnies jumping up and down in my head. XD

I've seen people speculate about Kenshin's disease. Some say it was leprosy and some say that it was STD-related. I'm more inclined toward the former instead of the latter because I don't think Kenshin is the type to sleep around or do various activities that would cause him to contract STD. I think that leprosy didn't have a cure around Kenshin's time, ne? I think that the reason why people speculate it was STD-related is because of that one scene where Kenshin comes home and Kaoru asks him to 'give' or 'share' his burden with him, and then they sleep together… then it fades to that scene where Kaoru looks at Kenshin's skin.. which was all discolored and icky. (

ROFL, thanks for the shield, Lily. XD

Yay Lolo you're safe! (glompage) I am totally obsessed with Kagome right now so I changed my nick to this. I figured it was better than "Oro". XD

* * *

**CHAPTER 22**

As the days dragged by, the two occupants of the small hut fell into another routine. No one dared mention the incident on their first day of 'work' together, and there was a bit of tip-toeing around each other before they mutually decided to put everything aside. 'Business' boomed after their first day disaster, and people in town had looked at them differently after Kenji's heroic efforts. Some gave them a wide path; some people looked at them with awe; and some, more thuggish-looking folks were often found leering at the duo. Life, for the Himuras, had resumed its normal course.

During the days when they didn't have to peddle medicine or didn't have anything to sell and thus had to wait for Iizuka to bring them back more supplies, they trained. His father still hasn't stopped convincing him to use a 'real' katana instead of his usual sakabatou, and he adamantly refused each time. The hitokiri still didn't believe that it was a family heirloom. He knew that his father couldn't understand how a reverse-blade sword could be useful, despite the way he proved it to him otherwise each time they practiced.

The summer gradually gave way to autumn as the leaves fell from their branches and the cold air finally gave way to winter. Fresh snow blanketed everything around them and they peddled less and less each day, opting to stay on the mountains instead of braving through several feet of ice.

Today, Kenji was reminiscing about how long he's spent with his father. They had just finished with breakfast after a couple of hours' worth of sword practice.

"Today," Kenji said, "will be nine months since I fist came here," he reminded his father. The other redhead merely nodded his head, encouraging Kenji to continue. "We should celebrate," he added. "Perhaps we should cut back on the early morning practice this week and relax instead, what do you think?" He looked at his father hopefully. The Battoussai was a slave driver. "It wouldn't hurt to relax once in a while, you know." He complained.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Kenshin replied.

Famous last words and all.

* * *

"Do you know that you equate celebrating to eating and drinking, then you eventually get drunk after two cups, go to sleep and have a major hangover the next day?"

Purple bloodshot eyes glared at him through red bangs.

"And not only that," he continued, "but you're also moody and mostly cranky for at least half a day. Makes me wonder why you even drink. At all."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to will the massive headache away to no avail. "Must you be so cheerful in the morning?"

"If I look cheerful to you then you must really be feeling bad."

He mustered as much strength as he could and glared at his father. "Thank you for pointing out what's very apparent, Captain Obvious." He yawned, ruining his glare. "Not all of us can be _perfect_, you know."

"I know."

His father must really enjoy torturing him, Kenji thought. All he asked for was a day or recreation, which his father easily obliged yesterday, but here he was, still sporting a hangover while being subjected to the torture of waking up early for training. How he hated that word.

Training.

He shuddered. He never knew one word could invoke such strong feelings of disgust from him. His father was a slave driver and he told him so.

All he got was a chuckle and an order to continue.

Despite his aching head and sluggish movements, he felt unexplainably exhilarated from the fresh mountain air.

The mountaintop was now covered in snow and everything was colored white. It seemed like it was only yesterday when summer rolled in.

Why couldn't they just have a snowball fights instead of training? What was so important in concealing yourself in the snow anyway?

"It's called stealth," his father said.

"What do you need stealth for," he asked before he realized, and then bit his tongue at the stupidity of the question. His father looked amused. "I'm still half-asleep, okay?" He defended himself. "Nobody I know except for you would take pleasure in torturing people so early in the morning," he continued to complain as he blocked a swing.

"I mean how do you do it anyway?" He rattled off, not really minding that his father wasn't answering him. "I swear, sometimes I think you're not human at all."

Metal clashed against metal as the two redheads exchanged swords, and he rolled off to the side and prepared to launch an attack while talking all the while.

"You know," Kenshin said, "it would help if you concentrate on your moves instead of letting your mouth do all the work when we're practicing."

He snorted and landed a soft kick to his father's legs, hoping to throw his balance off and get the upper hand. "I'm multi-talented, otou." He said and deflected his father's blow with his sheathe. "I can talk and kick your butt at the same time."

The young hitokiri chuckled. "You're playing a dangerous game, Kenji-chan." He teased cockily. "And if you must play, decide upon three things at the start," Using his god-like speed he disappeared in front of Kenji's eyes, "the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time." He finished as he reappeared behind him.

Kenji felt the tip of his father's blade on the side of his neck as the man whispered in his ear, "I win."

"Arg! How do you do that!" He said, frustrated. His father merely crinkled his eyes, as if smiling at him.

"I too am multi-talented."

"Let's do that again!" He challenged and braced for another round.

"Be quiet," his father suddenly said.

His brows shot upwards. Never had his father been so rude at him before. "What did you say?"

"Urusai," his father hissed, eyes darting from side to side.

"Where were you when the Kami decided to hand out good manners?"

"Sssssh!" The Battoussai reiterated, placing his finger in front of his mouth for emphasis and stepped closer towards his son. The forest had gone eerily quiet, and his senses were tingling. "Don't you feel it?" He asked his son without taking his eyes off of their surroundings.

"Feel what?"

There was a dangerous feeling in the atmosphere. The animals were eerily quiet, as if they sensed that something was about to happen as well.

"Abunai!" His father shouted just as he was grabbed by the scruff of his kimono and dragged to the side. A small object landed and exploded on impact on the snow where the two of them just vacated.

"What the--!" A small movement to the side caught his attention and he jumped back just as another explosive narrowly missed them by mere inches. If not for their speed and agility, he guessed that the snow would have been decorated with their blood, various body parts and guts by now.

He could feel his father's warrior spirit flare up as more projectiles came from varying directions. It was all he could do to avoid the exploding ice and ground.

He wanted to stay close to his father, but instincts told him that sticking together would make them an easier target. If someone was set on killing them, he might as well make them work hard for it, ne?

After what seemed like hours, even though it was only a few minutes, the explosions eventually ceased but the ringing in his ears still lingered. He wondered if the enemy had ran out of bombs or if they were just getting ready for another round of bombardment.

He couldn't sense any ki in the surrounding forest, but he still cautiously stood up from his crouched position on the snow and looked for his father. "Kenshin doko wa?" He loudly whispered. "Daijoubu ka?"

"Daijoubu," his father replied from his position and he breathed a sigh of relief.

They patted the snow away from their clothes and surveyed the damage. Trees, dirt and snow were strewn everywhere.

"Huh," he thought out loud. "They ran away."

The Battoussai fixed narrowed eyes towards the trees. "They're trying to lure us somewhere," he said in a matter of fact. "You stay here while I go check it out."

He huffed indignantly. "You want me to stay here? What do you think I am, a kid?"

"I have no time to argue with you, just do what I say." The tone of voice brooked no arguments.

He narrowed purple eyes at his father and stood his ground. "You are not the boss of me!"

"Yes I am and I say you stay here."

"We don't have time for this! Why don't we just both go and watch each others backs, okay? You **know **I'm going to follow you anyway, and going together is safer." He coerced. His father didn't actually expect him to sit this one out, did he? "You know it's true and it's the right thing to do," he added stubbornly.

His father sighed. "Fine, but you stay close to me and be on a constant alert."

"You don't need to tell me that," he muttered between clenched teeth.

A brief moment passed as they braced themselves. "If you get yourself hurt," Kenshin said, "I'll never forgive you."

He snorted. "Shyeah! Don't worry about me old man and just worry about yourself. I can take care of myself." He added with a wink. "We finally get some action after several months and I refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death." He added cockily.

His father frowned at the statement. "Just don't do anything heroic."

"Me? Heroic?" He blinked innocently. "Never!"

That earned him a skeptical look from his companion but he managed to maintain a straight face.

Some sort of silent understanding passed between the two redheads before silently and determinedly, they set out to track their prey.

* * *

"It is done."

"Good."

"They're coming."

"Prepare yourselves."

Silent figures sat atop snow-covered trees, expertly blending in with their surroundings as they waited for the arrival of their targets. Today was the day of reckoning. They have been spying on the pair for several months now, and have discovered that the older redhead, who surprisingly wasn't the feared Hitokiri Battoussai and their main target, had a weakness for liquor.

Their observation taught them that he got drunk very easily and seemed to pay less attention the next day. Intelligence informed them that the pair had indulged last night, and even though the Battoussai didn't seem to suffer any after-effects, they knew from past events that the other target was going to be more vulnerable.

Now all they needed to do was kill the companion first and then the Battoussai would soon follow.

Today they were going to go down in history and tales of their heroism will pass down as legends for generations to come.

Today, they were going to kill the legendary Battoussai.

* * *

It was funny how they were practicing stealth not too long ago this morning and now he was actually testing out his stealth skills.

He realized that he wasn't very good at it or the enemy was just probably better at it than he was, because as they neared the peak they were ambushed once again. Explosives rained from the treetops and debris flew every which way. He was sort of prepared for it this time, so he quickly dodged out of the way of the exploding ground and snow. He calculated the trajectory of the objects and took down the shinobi on top of the trees. Darn cowards. Why couldn't they just fight hand to hand instead of throwing those toys around?

The ringing in his ears increased as the spies multiplied like wild mice. There seemed to be an endless supply of bombs as well. By the time his feet touched the ground once again, not only were his ears ringing but his eyes were stinging from the smoke as well.

He was sure about getting a headache the next day.

He had a slight limp to his walk as he strutted towards his father. The guy seemed to be in the same condition that he was – half-blind and half-deaf.

What happened next looked like something out of a horrible kabuki play.

There were moments in a person's life when you leap before you look just because instincts tell you to. Seeing a loved one getting attacked by someone at the front and another one jumping behind him was certainly one of those times.

On hindsight, he figured that interfering with another person's fight while you couldn't even see your hand clearly if you placed it in front of your face was erroneous. He had to learn the hard way though, right after he just took down the would-be attacker and received a blade through the chest for it in the process.

It was all he could do from passing out from the intense pain as well as wanting to give himself a swift kick to the butt.

The stark horror that his father wore on his face was going to haunt his dreams for several years at the least. He tried to reassure his father, tell him that it wasn't his fault for his son being so stupid enough as to involve himself in the middle of his fight, but instead of words, blood spilled from his mouth when he tried to talk.

The Battoussai dropped his katana on the ground with an anguished roar. The words 'oh my god what have I done' ricocheted on his mind, louder than the bomb blasts from earlier. One minute he was fighting the last of the shinobi and the next thing he knew he was stabbing Kenji. He didn't even realize it was his son until he had plunged the katana all the way in and then pulled it back out again.

"Kami-sama! Kenji!" His father shouted and continued to look stricken. He had never seen his father's hands shake that much before.

"Don't look at me like that!" Kenji admonished his father gently. "You look like you think I'm dying or something."

He dropped to his knees. The snow looked really comfortable from his point of view just about now, and he wondered if he could take a short nap to keep the world from spinning for a bit.

"Don't say that!" Kenshin said harshly, not liking the joke.

"Heh, you should've seen the other guy," Kenji quipped, nodding to the bodies that littered the forest ground.

His father didn't appreciate his humor, if his scowl was any indication of it. "You need to work on your sense of humor," he said.

A strong sense of lightheadedness was seeping into his brain, and he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. Kenshin was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't understand him. The ice felt oddly comforting as he laid down on it. It would be nice if he had that X on his face, he thought to himself.

"Friendship is not measured by the time you have spent together, but by the memories you made along the way." He coughed and more blood spilled forth from his mouth. "We're friends, aren't we otou-san?"

"Yes," Kenshin said, trying to blink away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "We're friends, Kenji-chan." He crawled over to the other redhead and cradled his son's head in his lap, his heart clenching.

"I'm glad." Kenji said as he struggled to stay awake. "You won't get mad if I do this then." Before his father could protest, he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and raised it to his father's face. He pressed the blade unto the skin, slashing a diagonal line crossing with the one the hitokiri already had.

Kenshin sat still through the brief pain, not even minding the blood that now poured out of his fresh wound.

"You…" Kenji said as he struggled to stay awake. His vision was starting to get blurry and he felt colder every second. "Now you look like yourself," he smiled feebly. He couldn't figure out why he was more worried about 'completing' the legendary Hitokiri Battoussai's cross-shaped scar than the blood that was freely bleeding out of the gaping wound from the gaping wound on his chest. Maybe it was because of the blood loss, he thought sarcastically.

His father smiled unconvincingly back at him, not minding the fresh wound. "Save your strength, you can do it. Can you stand up?"

He tried but the pain was too intense.

"Alright," his father instructed. "I can carry you on my back, no problem." He helped him into a sitting position and then crouched down to lift him up unto his back.

It was rather awkward, since he was several inches taller than his teenage father was, but he was half-surprised that he actually managed to do it despite his injuries.

"We'll get through this, ne? Don't worry."

Was he trying to reassure the kid or convince himself, he didn't know. He mentally berated himself for the umpteenth time, cursing his diminished eyesight and hearing once more. How could he have been so stupid?

"Don't blame yourself Kenshin," Kenji said in a decrepit tone of voice, "it was my fault for being such a baka. You were right, I really shouldn't try to be so **heroic** sometimes. Now you have to carry me on your back like a sack of potatoes when you have your own injuries to attend to. Gomen ne."

"Don't worry about it, Kenji-chan. It was my fault," the hitokiri replied grimly.

"I probably weigh like the whole world. I think I put on a few pounds since I came here," he continued to ramble off. "Do you know what to do when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?" He asked suddenly. "Ask me what, otou." He prodded the Battoussai.

"What do you do when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?" The Battoussai asked brokenly, tears streaming down his cheeks. He felt like his heart was being torn in two at the memory of seeing his son lying in the blood-soaked snow. He knew how badly injured Kenji was but he couldn't see him right now thankfully, being carried on his back as he were.

"That's simple." Kenji smiled weakly from behind his father's back. "You plant your feet."

And then the world turned black.

* * *

LOL Don't kill me yet! I swear I have everything planned out… Mostly.

I'll update as soon as I can. )


	24. The End of an Era

Ah! I'm sorry the last chapter was a bit rushed, I did say that in my livejournal. (blush) I just wanted to get it over and done with that I didn't even bother reading it to see what happened. ROFL Sumimasen! Um, first they were practicing and then they got bombed – then Kenshin wanted Kenji to go back home but Kenji wanted to go with him so they did, and then when they reached the top they got bombed again, November's Ash. )

YAY! 200 reviews! (insert super duper fangirl squeal here) Look at my muse! (presents chibi muse) He's so happy! Thank you for all your reviews… and death threats! (jigs)

Mwahahaha! I'm evil! Evil I tell you… eeeeeeeeeeeeeevil! (insert maniacal laugh here) Back away! I still have that shield and I'm not afraid to use it! (is actually afraid to use it)

Kyaa! (ducks the flaming sword of death) O.O At least Kenshin has that X-shaped scar again! O.O (huddles in a corner, far, far away from the flaming pointy sword)

LMAO, I'm having a severe identity crisis if you can't tell. XD I think I've settled on this one now though. ROFL I have to since I opened a livejournal with this name and my email accounts are under the same nick. (embarrassed) Does lolo popoki mean anything? Somehow the words "old man" keep popping into my mind. O.o

I just wanted to make it clear that Kenshin gets his reverse-blade sword from the swordsmith Shakku Arai. This is in RK's second season no da. So the matter of Kenji living or dying will not affect Kenshin getting his sakabatou, because Kenshin will get _his_ a couple of years or so from 'now'. )

**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to put one on each chapter? o.O

**Mezameru** wake up

**Baka** idiot/fool

**Kodomo** child

**Yappari ** still/also/in spite of

**Omae** you

**Sumimasen** sorry/excuse me

Um, I said so in the previous chapters… somewhere… D My Japanese is not excellent, but I do get by watching subs without having to read the subtitles sometimes. Even though I'm quite sure about my translations, I'm not 100 sure about my grammar. P

* * *

**CHAPTER 23**

The trek back to the cabin seemed to last for an eternity.

He couldn't feel his toes, couldn't feel his nose, his legs were numb from walking and he was frozen by the time he made it back to the cabin, both in body and mind.

He wasn't even concerned about the extra weight that he carried on his back; he was more concerned of getting medical attention. Limited as his knowledge of medicine as it may have been, it was still a good thing that they had a supply of it right in their own home. He never thought that he would be using the medicine they sold on Kenji himself.

The boy seemed unhealthily pale and unnaturally still. He was also uncharacteristically quiet on their journey home and this worried him immensely. He probably fell asleep or passed out, which was very worrisome to the young hitokiri.

He blamed himself once again. He should not have forced the kid to get up at sunrise especially after yesterday's 'celebration', and he knew that he should not have been so strict in following their schedule to the tee. Why couldn't he have followed his son's advice and tried to 'relax' for once in his life? He guessed that whoever attacked them meticulously planned it; their timing was perfect. It was almost as if they knew the kid was weak from the last night's indulgence. The question regarding who was behind it nagged at the back of his mind but he pushed it aside. He had more important matters to attend to right now - like Kenji's health.

How could he have not seen his own son? He could have sworn he was confronting another spy when he turned around after cutting down the shinobi in front of him. There were so much debris flying around that he had to rely on instincts to cut down one enemy after another.

After their first assault, he and his son climbed towards the top of the mountain together, into the shinobi-tachi's trap. He felt confident in his abilities to protect them both, but once again, his instincts failed him.

Yes, the battle had been fierce and halfway to the hut he was still half-deaf and half-blind, but that didn't mean that he could have misjudged so poorly and caused that unfortunate accident.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he had traveled this same road many times before during the past months, he would have never been able to find his way right now. Everything around him looked white and blurry. Curse the shinobi gang and whoever was behind this whole plot. He vowed to have his vengeance, but not now, when he had other things to worry about.

He sighed as he shifted the weight on his back. Plant your feet indeed. He would carry this so-called burden everywhere if he could if it meant that Kenji was going to survive this. One great thing finally happened in his life and he just had to mess it up.

Was he cursed?

He couldn't even begin to fathom how he would survive without Kenji. He had accepted the boy to be a constant in his life. His one true friend, confidant, practice buddy and beloved family.

His blood should not have been spilled at all today, or on any day for that matter, and he prayed to the Kami that he would do a better job at being the boy's protector next time, if only they gave him one more chance.

The combination of the cold air, snow on his clothes and mental exhaustion was making him start to feel delusional by the time he spotted their house from the hillside. He didn't bother to use his hands to open the door, a good kick saw to it.

He sighed in relief as they entered the small hut. He had a thin sheet of sweat from the exertion of carrying added weight on his back, but he didn't mind it one bit.

Carefully setting his son down on the tatami mat, he hurried to the makeshift bedroom behind the screen and dragged a futon to where Kenji was laying at. He ignored the stillness of the boy, and then proceeded to rummage through their medicine supplies.

First things first though, so he carefully peeled away the blood-soaked clothes from the older redhead. They were swiftly discarded unto a heap on the floor. His son still hasn't regained consciousness while he meticulously cleaned his wounds. Apart from the nasty hole in his chest, he didn't have any other serious injuries. Minor cuts, bruises and burns from the explosives littered his body and the Battoussai quickly dressed those as well, while swearing all the while that this was going to be the last time his son ever put his life in danger.

He didn't know how long it took him until he was finally satisfied with how Kenji looked, but his stomach was protesting loudly, being without food for so long.

Reluctantly, he left the side of the futon, cutting his vigil by making some food. _Kenji will need food when he wakes up. _The kid was often always hungry.

He prepared a quick stew and allowed it to heat over the stove under a low fire. Taking a generous portion on a bowl, he took up his original position beside the kid's futon once again and silently ate his meal. He didn't really have much of an appetite, so after his hunger was appeased; he checked the kid's injuries once again and took up his usual vigil with his back against the wall. His trusty sword was draped across his shoulder and a knee was raised.

_Kenji will look for me when he wakes up. _They were inseparable, even when they were having a tiff they never went their separate ways.

He was sure that the boy wasn't going to blame him for what happened. He would probably say something along the lines of it was his fault and try to ease the guilt that he was feeling. _He's such a kind-hearted soul. _He didn't know what he would do without the kid by his side.

Did he not promise to protect his son a long time ago? _No one hurts my family._

But he failed; he broke his promise.

His head lowered several inches towards the ground in shame. What was he good for if he can't even keep his promises?

The sun set on the horrid day yet the boy did not awaken. The hitokiri kept his silent vigil by the side of the futon with the fire from trying to keep the meal warm long forgotten.

He hadn't moved an inch and his muscles were frozen in his stance, but still he waited.

And waited.

* * *

A rooster crowed at a distance, signaling the break of a new dawn. It was just yesterday when he was listening to his son's complaints about waking up so early in the morning.

If he only knew what had been in store for them yesterday, he would have insisted for Kenji to stay inside their hut and not come out until next summer.

If only he could turn back the time…

For the first time since yesterday, he noticed that the stinging pain on the left side of his face. He reached up and touched it with his left hand, feeling the fresh wound inflicted by his son yesterday. It was another horizontal slash to the one that he already had, and from the feel of it, it formed an X shape combined with his old one.

He could remember the day when he got that first horizontal slash. Kenji had caused it as well – that day in the forest when he thought that the boy was spying for the Shinsengumi.

He got his ass kicked and a scar to remember that day by, he thought as he fingered the disfigurement absentmindedly. He didn't really mind the injuries. If Kenji wanted to carve him a new face, he would allow it, if only he would wake up from his long slumber already, and promise not to put himself in harm's way ever again.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't detect their visitor until there was a knock on the front door followed by a familiar voice calling out. "Himura-san?"

Kenshin tightened his grip on his katana and quickly made his way to the entrance of the hut, preparing to defend his territory. He was surprised to see who their visitor was. "Katsura-san!" He exclaimed. "What brings you here?" Stupid question, he thought. By now, Katsura-san would have already known about yesterday's incident.

He stepped aside, allowing the man some room to step into the hut. He noted that the man was alone, and there didn't seem to be anyone else with him, even after looking around for a bit, trying to judge the situation.

"I heard about what happened." Katsura explained. His eyes ventured to the form of Kenji on the futon and his brow furrowed. "I'm sorry I couldn't come here earlier, I had matters to attend to in Kyoto…" He paused, waiting for some sort of reply from the Battoussai. When he didn't get any, he cleared his throat and continued. "Sumimasen, Himura-san." He bowed low in contrition. "Please accept my deepest apologies. I didn't realize that they would be able to track you down here."

The Battoussai bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head. "No need to apologize, Katsura-san. It wasn't your fault." It was his own fault for not being vigilant enough. He couldn't place the blame on someone else's shoulders.

The two men sat down after some tea was prepared and Katsura didn't know if the Battoussai was pointedly ignoring the looks that he was giving him or if he was just totally oblivious to them. He decided it wise not to voice out his concerns for now and quietly sipped his tea.

"We found out who the spy was."

The hitokiri's fists balled tightly and a tick began to develop on his right eye.

"It was Iizuka. He was selling Ishin Shishi information to the enemy in exchange for a few gold coins."

"I will have his head." The Battoussai said darkly.

Katsura's eyes dimmed at the memory of the betrayal. "I have taken care of it. I dispatched your replacement, Makoto Shishio, to take care of him. He will deal with the traitor accordingly."

"Replacement?"

Katsura shifted a little uncomfortably. "Being a hitokiri in the shadows will no longer be fit for you since they know your identity. They know who you are, Himura-san. I – we – the Ishin Shishi, have decided that it's time for you to move out of the shadows and into the open. I'm assigning you to a new position, a bodyguard position to protect the key members of our organization, from now on, if you don't mind. Your successor will take over being the hitokiri in the shadows. He's as good at the job as you were."

The Battoussai perked up at this. He was going to be on guard duty like Kenji. It was sure to give him more time to spend with the kid, maybe he could even convince Katsura-san to assign them on the same missions… or better yet, maybe he could take on the kid's missions instead, allowing the kid to rest up all safe and sound at headquarters.

Yes, that would be best.

His features softened and he perked up immensely for the first time since yesterday.

"Um," Katsura said preliminarily, "Himura-san are you okay?" He glanced at the boy laying down on the futon and then back at the hitokiri worriedly. What was wrong with him? "We could talk about this another day, when you get back to Kyoto… I understand. You have up to two weeks to return to Kyoto and we will rebuild the resistance," he said.

The young hitokiri nodded. "Once Kenji-chan feels up to it we shall return."

Katsura merely stared at him.

"He suffered more injuries than I did yesterday and it's going to take him some time to recover. I'm sure he'll be happy to return to Kyoto after he has healed."

And continued to stare.

"I think he needs the rest, he was really tired yet I forced him to train with me yesterday," he confided to the leader of the rebellion.

Kogoro Katsura was still staring at him; he was starting to fear for the Battoussai's sanity.

"He would be glad to find out that you cared enough to visit him, Katsura-san," the Battoussai continued to tell him.

The leader of the rebellion threw a glance at the figure laying down on the futon once more. "Um," he said, "Himura-san, are you feeling alright? Daijoubu desu ka?"

"Daijoubu, Katsura-san!" The Battoussai replied in an almost cheerful tone. The first time Katsura has ever experienced from the young one. A cheerful hitokiri was actually quite scary in his opinion.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Kamiya-san."

"Daijoubu," the Battoussai repeated.

"I really regret the loss of one of the best bodyguards that the Ishin Shishi has ever had."

Kenshin's forced cheerful mood faltered. Why was Kogoro Katsura looking at him like that? "Daijoubu," he repeated like a mantra, in a whispered voice.

"I saw how close you were to him, Himura-san," the Ishin Shishi leader continued to say. "The two of you must have been like brothers. I remember that talk I had with him months ago…" he trailed off, thinking back to that time, several months ago. "He was a good friend."

"Daijoubu," was all that the Battoussai could whisper once again, his gaze fixed on his teacup.

"I do hope that you would consider returning to the ranks of the rebellion, Himura-san. We could use someone like you to guard the members of the Ishin Shishi from the likes of the Shinsengumi." His eyes were sorrowful as he glanced at the fallen figure of Kamiya on the futon once again, and then back to the Battoussai who seemed to be in a state of denial. "You have my deepest condolences, Himura-san. I'm sure that Kamiya-san considered you to be family as well." He fervently hoped that Kenshin Himura wasn't going to quit working for the Ishin Shishi cause because of this horrible tragedy, as selfish as that may have sounded.

He didn't know why the Battoussai kept talking about the Kamiya boy as if he were just slumbering peacefully on his futon. Surely he could see that the boy was dead.

When he received news of the attack made by the Shogun's shinobi on his prized hitokiri and companion two weeks ago, he was deeply distressed. The report told him that the older boy suffered grave injuries and might not survive the incident.

It took him close to two weeks to ferret out the weak link in their chain, and made the decision to get a new assassin, since their first one had already been exposed. Makoto Shishio seemed to have a dark soul, unlike Kenshin Himura when he first saw him, but he got the job done and that was what was important.

In reality, he really wanted to check on the two young boys he had sent to hide in Otsu the minute he found out, but duty called out to him, and after he had set things right and rebuilt the organization again, he went to check out the damage himself.

He hadn't gotten any other reports of the incident after that first one, and when he entered the hut, he had expected the usual cheery face of the Kamiya boy.

Despite the Battoussai answering his summons at the door, he still had his hopes up until he entered the cabin.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. It smelled like there was a dead something inside the dwelling and it emanated from where the Kamiya boy was 'sleeping'. A glance was all it took for him to make a definite conclusion. He was dead.

After the ambush, the Battoussai must have carried his body back here and placed it on the futon and cleaned him up. He looked so serene, so at peace, even in death. That had been two weeks ago.

Considering that the Battoussai was rather taking it well, he allowed himself to sip tea in spite of the odd circumstances. As their conversation progressed, he realized something – the Battoussai seemed to be overlooking the fact of his companion's demise.

Grief often did unexplainable things to a person. Some cried their hearts out to cope with the loss, others tended to lean towards doing acts of violence. And some… went into denial.

Clearly the Battoussai was one of these people, as he valiantly tried to keep a calm demeanor about him as he proceeded to talk as if he expected the Kamiya boy to get up from the futon and start having tea with them any minute now.

He truly felt sorry for the young Ishin Shishi. When he came to work for them more than a year ago, he never could have guessed the amount of hardships that was going to befall the young man. Not a day passed by when he wasn't racked with guilt, knowing that he had caused a kind soul like Kenshin Himura to become the stoic assassin that he was now.

He thought that he was doing the boy a favor by talking to Kamiya and encouraging the friendship and familial bond that seemed to surround them, but instead, he managed to cause an even bigger heartbreak for the Battoussai.

The man decided to give the Battoussai a few minutes to come to terms with it and politely excused himself out of the dwelling. He sat on a bench outside of the hut and listened to the sound of the wind blowing.

The Battoussai sat inside with two cups of simmering tea, quietly contemplating what he should do next.

Each day for the past two weeks since that snowy morning, he woke up in denial. He kept eluding the fact that the boy wasn't going to wake up from his slumber, and that his eyes weren't going to open anymore.

Time stopped for him when Kenji had stopped breathing. No amount of denial was going to bring his son back from the dead and he finally had to reconcile with the fact that the boy was gone. The pain brought by the realization almost crippled him from the inside, leaving a large, gaping hole in his dark soul.

He stared at the swirling liquid inside his cup, willing it to give him a clear path on what to do next.

Kenshin came out a few minutes later with a determined look on his face, and Katsura braced himself for a disappointment. After this incident, he didn't think that the former assassin would want to involve himself with the Restoration anymore, and he couldn't really blame the guy.

Katsura was still sitting on the bench when the Battoussai met him outside. He was pleasantly and mildly surprised when Kenshin told him that he would go to Kyoto and fight for the revolution once more.

"I will go to Kyoto and fight for the cause because if I quit fighting now, then all the lives that I have taken would all have been for nothing, and Kenji's sacrifice would all have been for naught," was what the Battoussai said.

During this time, several children ran up the hill and called for Kenshin and Kenji's name, asking if they could play with them, and Kenshin turned sorrowful eyes at them. He nodded and told them to wait a while, so that he could finish his conversation with Katsura-san.

They took out their wooden tops and began to battle against each other. Kenshin looked on sadly.

"I will continue to fight to pave the way to the new era," the Battoussai continued as he watched the children play, "but when the time comes, I will never kill again."

All that Kogoro Katsura could do was nod at these words, and then Kenshin bid him a good day. He then turned to the children and promised to play with them until nightfall.

* * *

Exactly two weeks after that, Kenshin Himura burned the hut and the remains, including his treasured spinning top and his son's sakabatou down to the ground in their small dwelling in Otsu.

He stood at a safe distance away and watched as the flames engulfed what he had considered home for several minutes and then turned his back. He walked away without looking behind.

He returned to Kyoto to resume working towards the Restoration.

He protected the key members of the rebellion against the forces of the Shinsengumi, and even managed to come face to face with several of their captains several times.

He distinctly remembered the captain of the Third Squad from that day when he trailed behind Kenji. The man seemed to recognize him as well, and all their duels have always ended in a draw. If it was because of their sword skill or because they truly didn't want to kill each other for some unknown reason, he couldn't tell. He didn't dwell on it though, he had more important matters to think about, and his thoughts often drifted back to the more carefree days when he was together with his Kenji.

He became a force to be reckoned with. He became the stuff that legends were made of. Ordinary men trembled in fear at the mere mention of his name and his feats were envied among enemies and allies alike.

The young man was like no other human any of them have encountered before. He was loyal to his cause, looked like a young girl but packed the power of an army of samurai with his intense god-like speed and unique sword style.

He had little to no friends, preferring to keep to himself than indulge in semi-social gatherings like the rest of the samurais were prone to doing, which only escalated the rumours going around about him.

The X-shaped scar on his left cheek spurred more tall tales, ranging from one extreme to another. Some say that it was the source of his superior sword skills, like some sort of magic talisman. Others speculated that it was given to him by a former love – hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and she carved the X unto his cheek when they parted ways. A few people believed it to be the result of the only time that the Battoussai has ever lost a fight, and guessed that whoever gave him the scars were six feet under the ground now.

Many postulated and reached their own assumptions, but none ever guessed the true origin of the infamous scar. The few, and stupid, who dared to ask the Battoussai were all silenced with a piercing cold stare when they ventured to question him personally about it.

The Battoussai chose to keep to himself all throughout his single journey towards the new era that they were trying to carve.

An image of a redhead with identical looks to his own spurred his determination at the back of his mind, and it was the his only solace during the turbulent times.

He tried to console himself, telling him that he would do things differently this time. He wasn't going to be that absent father his son so gravely took exception to. This time, he vowed to himself, he would make things better no matter what. It was just a matter of time until he was going to meet up with Kenji is all, or so he kept telling himself.

He tried his best to serve the cause and tried his hardest to survive the bloody war.

When the last battle was fought and the Imperialists had forced the Restoration, Kenshin thrust his sword into the ground and walked away.

He bid the swordsmith Shakku Arai a fond farewell and got a recollective memento in return – his very own reverse-blade sword. It brought back painful memories, but he managed to politely thank the infamous swordsmith before he bid him goodbye, carrying a sword without the ability to kill.

Going through his wardrobe, he saw the dreaded pink gi that was given to him years before. He touched it gently, remembering their conversation that day. He remembered forcefully objecting to wearing anything so blatantly _girlish _before, but he harbored none of the same arguments the day that he donned it.

It made him feel closer to his lost loved one, and he found himself adapting, to a certain extent, the personality he loved so much about Kenji.

He refused to go to Tokyo and avoided Kyoto as much as he could, never staying in one place long enough to be tracked down by his former comrades.

For ten years he wandered Japan, trying to find that piece in his soul that has been missing ever since that fateful day back in Otsu.

He never found it in his wanderings, but exactly ten years later, Kenshin Himura returned to the streets of Tokyo to face the wrath of a young woman wielding a bokken.

* * *

**A/N:** (sweats) I hope I didn't confuse you or make you think Kenshin was losing it… (although I think he really was lol) in this chapter. P

Poor Kenji… Kukukukuku! I mean… (coughs) (

This isn't the end yet… I still have to tie loose ends and all that. ) But I'm hoping to end it in about two chapters or so. Hehehe.

Thank you for all your reviews. )


	25. Quietly Awakening

Hehe… and Hiko-sama makes his um, second appearance in this chapter, due to public requests… and because I heart him too of course. Enjoy minna-san! D

Ah, and I place my replies to your reviews on my livejournal… got this email about not allowing replies to reviews in the author's notes anymore and even though I don't believe it to be true, I tend to get distracted when I finish a chapter and I'm always too lazy to overwrite an already uploaded chapter to fix something or add stuff into it. :P

Link is accessible on my profile. Click on my homepage and it'll take you there. (grin)

Thank you to the people who included this story on their C2s. hehe.

Sutefani-chan – lol, sorry for the wait. I was a bit distracted.

Hidari – Yes I'll be writing an epilogue. (pats you on the back) Don't be sad, I promise a happy ending. Lol

Colhan3000 – Muahahahaha… just read this chapter first… and the next one. P

But LILY, I HAD TO "kill" him. (winks)

L1Ldumie TK – dude, stop reading my mind. Lol

WolfDaughter – lol thanks! I was worried about that for a bit. Kenshin was stuck on that day when it's already been two weeks… I think Katsura made clear of that with his thoughts. Lol

Myks – I heart you! (grin)

Nemesis Jedi – I thought I'd give Kenshin his own, since it plays out in the second season… having to break and everything, and finding out that Shakku Arai forged a stronger one… Because if he took Kenji's then it would have been the original forge, and Sojiro probably couldn't break it during their duel. (grin) I liked your train of thought though. Hehe

kawaii meeh – LOOOOOOL! And … gomen! I started a new fic, although it's a Gundam Seed Destiny one. (sweats)

lolo popoki – darn! How could I have guessed so far off? ROFL Now I won't think of old man, but cats instead. Thanks for clearing that up. XD Hehe… Kenshin is a psycho, didn't you know that. Lol He has split personalities. XD

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! (grins widely, you'd think her face was going to split in two)

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**CHAPTER 23 - QUIETLY AWAKENING  
**

"Wake up." The voice said.

He groaned, feeling like he had just been ran over by a thousand horses.

"Mezameru, baka kodomo."

_No_, his mind rebelled. "Must go back to sleep," he said out loud.

"Wake up right now, baka!" Someone shouted at him so loud that his eyes shot open and he tried to sit up quickly. He groaned as his headache doubled and he heard a giggle when he reached up to clutch his pounding head.

He flopped his head back down on the pillow and looked around.

"That's what you get," Misao told him as she dipped a piece of cloth on a shallow bucket of water. He watched her as she repeated the process several times and then squeezed the excess liquid out of the cloth before folding it neatly and wiped his brow with it.

He just stared at her rather dumbly.

"Misao-dono?" He looked at her with wide eyes and mouth open in disbelief. "When did you get so big?"

The adult-looking Misao raised a brow at him and planted her palm on his forehead. "Do you have a fever? I told you that you could stop by the Aoiya anytime you want whenever you're in Kyoto." She frowned at him and repeated her earlier ministrations with the cloth. "You Himuras are so stubborn, I swear!" She ranted off.

Kenji was at a loss for words. Here he was at what he assumed and – dare he say it - recognized as one of the rooms in the Aoiya and an adult Misao was taking care of him. The last thing he remembered was feeling cold and succumbing to sleep being carried on his father's back. Had he fallen asleep **that **long? He couldn't have, could he?

He knew… he was **sure **that he wasn't just hallucinating… was he?

They had just finished beating up a shinobi-tachi and… His eyes widened into saucers, recalling his stupidity. He stepped in front of his father's blade! He groaned and painfully sat up for the second time. His body was on fire, as if somebody took a stick and beat him with it. He was still feeling the aches and pains from his stunt.

His mind was drawing a blank as to how Miss Misao had gotten so big all of a sudden. Surely nine months wasn't that long of a time for a young girl to turn into a woman all of a sudden. Try as he might though, he couldn't gather any intelligent thoughts for the moment. He looked at her again just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and there she was, attending to him like his own personal nursemaid.

And where the heck was his father?

"Anou…" he asked tentatively, "Misao-dono…"

"Hai?" She said as she continued to mop his brow.

He didn't know where to start. 'Where is my father, what happened after he stabbed me, when did I get here' were the questions at the tip of his tongue but he found himself unable to ask them. "What happened?" He inquired instead.

Misao stopped her ministrations for a moment, setting the wet cloth aside before she answered him. "Approximately three days ago, you finished your training with Hiko-sama and decided to go home." She glared at him. "You didn't even stop by the Aoiya for a hello or a quick bite. I don't know what you were thinking but you somehow made it to the cemetery and collapsed."

_Huh? Three days ago?But…_ his mind rebelled… _I've been gone for… _"At least nine months," he whispered more to himself than for the other two people with him.

"What was that?"

"Are you sure it's only been three days?" He questioned. "It couldn't have been!" He rebelled. "It's been…" A really foggy memory nagged at the back of his head…

"Three whole days!" Said a voice from outside of the shoji door, just before it opened and revealed a tall man wearing a flowing white cape.

"Hiko-sama," Misao mumbled a greeting discontentedly. Throughout the years she still hasn't entirely let go of her minuscule dislike for the arrogant Hiten Mitsurugi master.

The Hiten Mitsurugi master invited himself into the room and took a seat beside Misao with an elegant swish of his cloak.

Kenji felt like a small kid again when his master and surrogate grandfather turned his intense gaze at him. What did he do? Why were they ganging up on him like that?

"Was the training too intense for you, boy?" Seijourou Hiko scoffed. "I told you to be careful and then I receive word from the Oniwabanshuu hours later that you passed out in the streets! Such shame you bring to the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu! What would your father think if he ever found out! Even your father didn't do anything so pathetic as fainting in the middle of the street for nothing!"

Misao snorted.

Hiko-sama narrowed his eyes at her and turned them back to Kenji, clearly he wasn't finished with his sermon just yet. "Do not make me regret making you a successor! I was convinced that you were tough enough after completing the training, but days later you still haven't woken up from your fainting spell and I get summoned from my mountain cabin to play nursemaid for you."

Considering that Misao had been the one taking care of him, he didn't believe the nursemaid part of his shishou's rant one bit. He could tell that his master was just worried for him, so he stayed quiet and let him continue with his tirade.

He was still perplexed with the whole situation. He could have sworn that he was just in the Bakamatsu with his father… and it took him a long time to actually accept that fact convinced that he was dreaming **_then_**. But… how come he was now talking to a grown up Misao-dono and Hiko-sama looked just like how he remembered him –right after when he left for home after his training?

He shook his head, totally at a loss for words. Was he dreaming? Did someone drop an anvil on his head and cause him to have delusions? Was he… dead…?

There was that vague memory again, clawing at the back of his head… He tried hard to remember it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on anything solid. He could tell it was something important though…

He was now in the Meiji Era… what the fu-

"Oy!" Hiko-sama yelled at him.

He had the decency to flush a bright red for his lack of attention.

Hiko-sama eyed him with exasperation. "Omae wa yappari baka kodomo da ne. Maybe the heat has fried your small brain."

"Serves him right for not visiting when all it would have took was several minutes," Misao-dono continued to sulk. "Wait til I tell your—"

"Misao -" said a third voice from the hallway. "Hiko-sama, maybe you should give the boy some room to rest, ne? I'm sure he's still suffering from heat exhaustion. Three days without waking up and you bombarding him with questions and lectures as soon as he does is not good for his recovering health." Aoshi Shinomori said from the doorway. The man looked as resolute and curt as always, but there was certain softness in his eyes when his gaze turned to the lady attending him.

Despite that, Kenji couldn't help but feel thankful for his intervention. So many questions were plaguing his mind right now but his mind is addled. A lot of things weren't making sense, and he kept feeling like he was missing something. Something very important… he couldn't point out what specifically, but he just knew in his gut that it was important.

His appointed nursemaid and master who hasn't finished lecturing him yet voiced their protests, but they fell on deaf, stoic ears. Aoshi Shinomori merely stood there with steel ice blue eyes and told Misao that someone named Miaka and Tasuki needed her.

She huffed indignantly but gracefully stood up from her position beside Kenji's futon. "I'll be back to check on you later," she said. And then she promised to have someone bring him some food later, in case he got hungry.

_Kairi. _He thought, and wondered where the thought came from.

Hiko-sama shot him a quick "go back to sleep and get some more rest" speech before he strutted out of the room, intent on indulging in some early saké. Things haven't changed at all. Hiko-sama was still a saké-lover, Misao-dono was still vivacious and Aoshi-sama was still an ice block.

Kenji laid back down on his futon, pondering the mystery of his weird dream; his weird but **very **realistic dream. He could have sworn that it was real, if not for the fact that he was laying down on a futon in the Aoiya right now and people like Misao-dono and Hiko-sama telling him that he had been sick for the past three days.

It had felt so real. Almost as if he really was back in the past, and he lived each and every day of it with his father.

How weird.

Did he contract some kind of illness that gave him memories that seemed too real? He could still remember that first night, out in the dark streets of Bakamatsu Kyoto. He could still remember his first assignment, having to go against the wolf whom he admired so much. He could still remember the look on his father's face when he gave him that first horizontal slash, remember their talk afterwards. He could almost feel the heat of the Kohagi Inn burning down to the ground as Katsura-san told them to hide in Otsu.

He remembered all the times when he and his father indulged in saké to celebrate their victories and triumphs. He could remember his young mother's cute little face as she bossed his father around. His heart clenched as he recalled watching the fireflies with his parents. Out of all the memories he had, that was his most favorite. It made him feel like he had a family once again, despite the fact that he was older than his parents were.

Had none of those things happened? How, why, when, where, who… so many questions were left unanswered, and he didn't even know where to start looking.

Maybe, he thought to himself, suddenly remembering, maybe he should start with going to Tomoe's grave once more… afterall, that was where it all started.

Yes, that was what he was going to do. He wanted to help solve the mystery of his 'fainting spell', as the others called it. He refused to believe that he had just dreamed all of the vivid memories that he possessed. Some stuff kept overlapping against those memories though, but they were foggy recollections that he couldn't firmly grasp with his mind.

He wanted to solve this mystery. Find out what happened to him and then go home and probably ponder his thoughts quietly in his room. The futons on the Aoiya were comfortable, and he was glad that Hiko-sama cared enough for him to come down from his mountain retreat, but for some reason, he really wanted to go home.

He couldn't explain what happened, but he had no other logical explanation for it. The more that he thought about it, the more that the answers seemed to keep eluding him.

He fell asleep several minutes later.

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When he awoke the next time, it was to a darkened room, with only one candle lighting it and his shishou was lounging in the corner, seemingly fast asleep. It looked like he slumbered for the whole day, and he felt utterly rejuvenated. Whatever he had been suffering from during the previous days was still there, hovering just below the surface, but he didn't feel faint anymore. The aches and pains of his body were beginning to get tolerable as well.

Since he forgot to do so before, he checked himself for the injuries he thought he suffered, but there were none. The gaping hole he expected to be present in his chest was nowhere to be seen, and oddly enough, he felt sad.

No wound means that he dreamt the whole thing, right? It all seemed so real though… the emotion, the adventures, the blinding pain in the end… he shook his head at his thoughts. Maybe he was just going crazy. Or the training really did take its toll that's why he collapsed from exhaustion and was now suffering from delusions.

He needed to relieve himself, so he slipped out of his bedding as quietly as possibly, so as not to disturb his master.

"Where are you going, boy?"

He almost jumped out of his skin when his master spoke. He thought the man was sleeping peacefully. "I need to use the bathroom, Hiko-sama."

"You sure you can stand up? I don't want you fainting on us again."

He answered with a small smile and a shake of his head. "I feel better now," he replied. "I'll be just a minute."

"Hurry up."

He nodded and quietly made his way to the bathroom and then back to the room again. Hiko-sama was wide-awake when he returned to the room, those black orbs of his carefully watching Kenji's every move. The man really did care for him, he thought. He just didn't like to show it, because he kept this I'm-so-cool-and-I-don't-care-about-the-world façade, but deep down, if you knew him enough to look, you could see that he was deeply concerned about the people who mattered to him.

Kenji even suspected that he cared enough for Misao-dono, respected the fact that she liked to speak her mind even. Their odd bunch of scattered surrogate families were the most unlikely bunch you would ever picture caring for one another - but a former pickpocket, a distinguished swordsman whose skills have remained unsurpassed despite his age, a weasel girl, a renowned lady-doctor, a man who was on the run from the law, a former okashira who was on the verge of insanity and the others – were the only family he had left.

"What are you thinking about, boy? You look like you're worried," Hiko-sama interrupted his thoughts. "If you keep that up, I won't be surprised if you fainted again." He scoffed at him, making Kenji feel like fainting was one of the worst possible sins he could have committed.

"I was just thinking, shishou." He politely replied.

"Well you can think while you're resting. Get back to bed right now and stay there. Don't want you tarnishing the good name of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu more enough as it is," he grumbled.

Kenji smiled, secretly knowing that Hiko-sama was just acting like a tough guy but deep down, he was concerned for his pupil. "Hai," he readily agreed and eased back into the futon.

"Of all the things to do…" his master continued to mumble under his breath.

"Don't worry Hiko-sama, I feel totally fine now." He assured his master.

His master snorted. "You say that even if you **don't **feel alright. Quit lying to me, boy!"

"But master, I'm not lying, I really do feel fine. I don't know why I fainted in the first place."

"Oh I know why you did."

Kenji blinked. He did?

"You fainted because you're such a weak child, that's why! You're so skinny people would think I starved you while training. Oh the shame of it all!" His master said dramatically.

He resisted the urge to laugh, thinking that if he laughed he wasn't going to be fine after his master beat the crap out of him. "I don't remember fainting," he said again.

"Of course you don't, baka! You don't plan things like fainting in the middle of the day in a cemetery out of all places! Why were you there anyway?"

He paused, remembering his reason. "I was… visiting a friend." He didn't want to say her name out loud, but Hiko-sama should be able to figure out who this 'friend' of his was who was buried in the cemetery. He had no other 'friends' nor did he know anyone else who was buried in Kyoto, since his parents were both buried in Tokyo.

His master snorted again. "Well, the next time you decide to visit this 'friend' of yours, be sure to eat first. Or if the weather is too hot, find yourself a nice shade so you don't collapse from heat exhaustion! You should have told me you were hungry. We could have eaten first before you went down. What if you got mugged or worse when you were out cold, huh? What if the Oniwabanshuu who found you didn't recognize you? What if no one found you? You probably would have slept for more than three days, baka kodomo!" And the rant continued.

Kenji didn't take personal offense to his shishou calling him a baka, an ahou and several other obscenities. He let the old man rant to his heart's content, understanding that it was only his way of showing that he cared about his student.

It must have been hard for him, Kenji thought. Having a student pass away before he did, especially since that student was considered to be his son. He felt bad thinking about how his shishou must have reacted when the Oniwabanshuu sent word to him that the boy who had just finished succeeding him had been found unconcious and then proceeded not to awaken for three straight days.

He endured his master's long speech patiently, allowing the man to get his worry off of his chest. When he was over, he huffed and crossed his arms haughtily across his broad chest, almost as if daring Kenji to say something back.

He smartly kept his mouth shut.

"Go back to sleep," ordered his master. His tone brooked no arguments.

He wasn't sleepy, but he thought it to be a good idea to comply with the orders.

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He spent the next day in bed, due to the insistence of his master and Miss Misao who threatened to give him a spanking if he didn't rest. The next day he felt totally fine, and he was allowed to walk around the Aoiya. People around him were still skeptical about his health, but he was feeling restless.

During the days of his confinement, he kept getting flashes of blurred memories. It was driving him crazy, and all he wanted for the moment was just to go home so he could gather his thoughts.

Hiko-sama and the rest of the people in the Aoiya were still concerned, but he really felt better now and told them so.

After careful deliberation, and more mothering from Misao-dono, they finally relented and allowed him to go home, but only if he allowed used the train ticket that they had bought for him.

To say that he was embarrassed was an understatement. It was bad enough that he had inconvenienced them for several days after dropping unexpectedly into their doorstep, but now they had to spend a lot of coin into purchasing a train ticket as well.

He refused it, telling them to get a refund instead, totally horrified at himself. He argued with Misao and the others until Aoshi Shinomori finally stepped in and basically ordered him in an okashira voice to use the ticket or else Misao was going to be very displeased. That translated to 'if Misao is displeased then so would I be' and a displeased Aoshi was not a good sight.

He took the ticket.

Hiko-sama proclaimed that he was going to escort Kenji to the train station, just to make sure that he didn't faint on them again, and the two of them were soon off towards the train station.

"Hiko-sama," Kenji said as they stepped out of the Aoiya and into the crowded streets of Kyoto.

"Hn." The Hiten Mitsurugi master replied.

"Can we stop by the cemetery first?"

His master looked at him for a moment, as if he was judging his sanity, but he relented. He could make out the words "stubborn" and "stupid", but he paid no heed to them nor did he take any offense.

They turned a corner and headed towards the cemetery.

Kenji was very familiar with this path, since he took it several times before. This was where his father's first wife was buried. This was where his dream started.

"Are you going to visit that friend of yours again?" Hiko-sama asked after several minutes. They were at the cemetery already, they just had to walk to the right spot of the grave.

"Hai," he replied.

He stopped right before the grave and stared.

Hiko-sama lounged against a nearby tree, seemingly bored by the whole thing. "Is this going to take long?" He asked rather rudely.

Kenji didn't reply. He merely stared at the grave site.

"Kenji?"

There was no response from the kid.

Seijouro Hiko disengaged himself from the tree and walked towards the gaping teenager. "Oy Kenji," he asked the kid as he nudged his shoulder. His gaze followed whatever the kid stood there gaping at. "I thought you said you were visiting a friend?"

Kenji seemed at a loss for words. He pinched himself several times and even asked his shishou to pinch him.

Hiko reached over and forcefully whacked him at the side of his head.

"Ow!" He complained as he rubbed his sore head. "What'd you do that for?"

"Baka kodomo, what did you bring me here for! Are you sure this is the right place or are you just being a regular brat? What's going on with you?" Hiko said, irritated.

He leveled purple eyes at his master and replied solemnly. "I don't know how to answer that, shishou."

Kenji stared at the space where he knew one Tomoe Himura was buried.

It was empty.

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**A/N: **Ummm… aaaaahhh… anou… aaahhh… hehe? (sweats profusely)

**Major Gundam Seed Destiny pimpage: **Hehe, I started a new Gundam Seed alternate universe story. (grins) "Heart in Motion" inspired from the Destiny OST Life Goes On. All Gundam Seed fans who are reading this should check it out and please review. Hehe

Oh, and please review this fic, too. This was the longest chapter in this fic I think, but I didn't want to break it down. :P I'm kind of frustrated, since every time I feel like I could end this fic, I remember something else and I feel like I have to tie loose ends. lol But then my Gundam Seed muse is trying to beat my Kenshin muse into submission, so I'm going to hurry up and try to finish this one already before I have a full out war between my muses.

Hai, I know I sound crazy. P lol I can't help it… I have these two chibi muses beating the crap out of each other right now. O.o


	26. Home At Last

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RK. Must you keep reminding me of this fact each time? XD

OMG Carebearchan! I didn't know you lived in Louisiana! O.O (huggles) I'm glad you're safe! I can't even watch the news anymore because of the depressing sight. :( I'm glad you liked the last two chapters. :D I love Hiko-sama vewy much, I liked writing him, but didn't want to put him there so much since I felt like I could do him no justice. :P hehe.

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**HOME AT LAST**

Kenji was very confused when he left Kyoto. Hiko-sama questioned him about why he chose to visit an empty gravesite but he had no definite answer for that. His master didn't seem to recall anyone they knew being buried there, which added to his confusion.

He wasn't going crazy. He was sure of that. If there was no grave on that spot, then why did he visit the same place days ago? If there was no Tomoe Himura then why was he recalling her? Why did he have the distinct memory of his mother telling him about her? And who the heck was Kiyoshi?

He didn't know where the last thought came from but he continued to think about Tomoe as he watched the scenery go by. He never failed to be amazed at the wonder that was the train. It was the fastest mode of transportation that they had in Japan right now. It could travel up to a speed that not even ships, carriages or running could compete with.

He didn't travel on it often, because the fare for taking a boat was cheaper, but he enjoyed it when he could. He remembered a certain story about his parents traveling and getting their picture taken in Okinawa one time. Something about a bunch of pirates and tea kettles…

The trip was surprisingly short, maybe because he was used to travelling by foot or by sea. He adjusted his meager belongings more comfortably on his shoulders as he navigated his way around the bustling crowd of the train station.

He was glad to be home.

More than anything else in the world, he wanted to just go back to his room and do nothing for approximately a week or two. He was suddenly feeling very tired and somewhat lonely.

The Dojo was too big and too quiet for him, since he didn't really have the urge to take on students nowadays. And besides, no one seemed to take him seriously since he was considered 'too young' to be a teacher. Lots of people tended to compare his skills to his father, and since their sword styles had differed before, he was viewed to be lacking. That was one of the reasons why he was glad to have finished his training with Hiko-sama. Now that he technically had more training than his father did, maybe people would start to take him seriously from now on.

Kenji Himura, Hiten Mitsurugi slash Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Master.

The title had a nice ring to it. Maybe after his self-decided extended vacation, he could make himself a written sign and hang it just below the Dojo's wooden one. That would surely draw more students into his meager dojo.

Since he had been away for several months, he decided to drop by the market on his way home. He wasn't going to starve himself. Who knows if he was going to pass out from hunger again. He didn't need any of those delusional dreams anymore, especially since he didn't like bothering Yahiko and Miss Tsubame for anything. The couple had their own problems to take care of, without him there having to add to it. He was a big boy now, a Hiten Mitsurugi master. He didn't need baby-sitters.

He saw a lot of acquaintances in the market. Friendly faces who smiled and waved hello. Some even stopped him, forcing him to talk to them for a few minutes before he had to politely excuse himself. Most of the merchants were surprisingly generous, not willing to accept the coin that he paid for their goods. He kept insisting that they do, but they kept looking at him like he had insulted them and their ancestors. After he went through the meat, poultry, radish and cabbage merchants and didn't have to spend a single cent, he decided to go home. He didn't want to look like he was leeching off of the merchants' goodwill.

It wasn't his fault that they refused his coin. The old lady who 'sold' him rice had tears in her eyes, apparently hurt when he had offered to pay for his purchases.

Since he had enough for now anyway, he headed for home, carefully balancing all of his free goodies. He felt like he had just entered a contest and won first prize.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that the dojo didn't look like it was crumbling down on itself in his absence. If he didn't know any better, he could almost swear that the dojo sign looked newly polished and the door was new.

_I must have been away from home for far too long. _

He fumbled for the dojo's keys but the door unlatched without any effort. _Yahiko or Miss Tsubame must be inside, _he thought.He nudged the door open and stepped inside.

"Tadaima!" He loudly called out, expecting to see his mentor or his mentor's wife.

"Okaeri nasai!" Came the reply. It was followed by what sounded like a bokken cluttering to the floor.

"Kairi!"

"Aniki's home!"

Did Yahiko start teaching students again, in his absence? He watched as a teenager who looked no older than 13 and a child who looked no older than 7 raced towards him.

"Aniki!" They both shouted, trying to outrun each other. The older boy was winning, his strides were longer than the girl's short ones.

"Huh?" He managed to say just as the duo pounced on him. The little girl clutched his legs just as the teenage boy engulfed him in a fierce hug around his middle. _What the heck?_

"Aniki, you're home!"

"We missed you so much!"

Why were they calling him aniki? Kenji just stood there and listened to the two children talk like several raging hurricanes around him. They poked and prodded at him, asking a million questions a minute.

"Did you get me anything?"

"Me first, me first!" The little girl said, jumping up and down.

_Kairi. _Triggered his memory.

"**No**," said that older of the two, "me first because I'm a boy and boys get first dibs!"

_Kiyoshi. _Triggered another one.

"But I'm a girl and girls are special! Mama says so!"

"Does not!"

"Does to!"

"Does not!"

"Does to and that's that!"

"Does not and that's the truth!"

"Not!"

"To!"

"Kairi," said a feminine voice, one that sent the hairs on the back of Kenji's neck to stand on end. "Kiyoshi, leave your brother alone. He just came home, have a heart."

Kenji turned unbelieving eyes to where the voice originated, but he still couldn't believe it even if the proof was standing right there, looking at him lovingly. He gaped at her with wide eyes. "O-okaasan?"

"Okaeri nasai, son." Kaoru Himura greeted him. In the flesh. In broad daylight. In the Kamiya Dojo. This must be another one of those weird dreams he's been having lately. He reached out and pinched himself hard. "Ow," he said, feeling the sting of the pinch.

Little Kairi giggled. "Aniki you're so silly."

Kiyoshi took some of the packages from his arms and handed one to Kairi. It was then that Kenji noted their red hair and purple eyes, so very much like his own. His blood turned from cold to hot then back to cold again before he laughed almost hysterically.

"Am I dreaming again?" He asked as he allowed the children to pull him along.

"Hurry aniki, I wanna know what you brought me!" Exclaimed little Kairi excitedly.

"Me first!" Kiyoshi told her, which brought about another round of arguments and "do not-do to" exchanges. He allowed them to drag him into the kitchen and then proceeded to viciously attack the packages, intent on finding their 'presents'.

"Mou!" Kairi exclaimed as they finished sifting through the assorted vegetables. "There's nothing in here but radishes!"

"And cabbages!" Kiyoshi added, frowning.

There was that urge to laugh hysterically again, just beneath the surface. Kenji still couldn't take his eyes off of his mother. Who was alive. Standing in front of him. Right now.

"You forgot to bring us back stuff!" Kairi pointed at him accusingly, looking extremely hurt. Kiyoshi stood next to her, nodding his head in agreement with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

He heard his mother sigh and ushered the kids out of the kitchen. "Saa, go back to your practice. I don't believe you were given permission to leave it in the first place," she said.

"But mama!" The two protested.

"No buts, you'll see and talk to aniki later. You live in the same house for crying out loud, it's not like he's going anywhere." Kaoru admonished her children gently, looking like she was greatly amused by their behavior.

The two gave another round of token protest before they dragged their feet back to the dojo. Kenji merely looked at their exchange, still in shock about everything.

Not only did the dojo's sign and door look new and well-taken cared of, but the grounds as well. And even the kitchen! He didn't recall seeing the kitchen ever being this clean and so… brand new looking before. "What the heck is going on?" He asked out loud. Why did he have siblings and why was his mother here?

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at him. "Well I'm sorry Kenji but your brother and sister need to maintain a strict schedule or else they're going to run all over you."

He flushed and bowed his head. He didn't mean to sound so disrespectful to his mother. "Gomen," he said. "What I meant is that what's going on? Why are you here okaasan?"

Kaoru's other brow lifted. "Um, I live here? Where else would I be, Kenji-kun? Are you feeling alright? We haven't heard from you in a week, we wondered what happened to you. You usually sent us a letter each week, no matter what the weather was. Are you alright? Have you had enough to eat while training with Hiko-sama? You didn't starve yourself, did you?" His mother approached him and brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

The simple gesture was too much for him. With a strangled sob, he pulled his mother into his arms and absorbed her in a heartfelt hug. He didn't care if he was only dreaming. He didn't care if this wasn't true. All he wanted to do was give his mother a hug. He missed her so much. His eyes misted as he inhaled her familiar fragrance. Fresh, sweet Sakura blossoms. That's how he remembered his mother. He felt fresh tears welling up in his eyes, but he was afraid to close them, scared that if he did, this dream was going to end and he would wake up all alone again. Alone without his mother there and no siblings like Kairi and Kiyoshi constantly bickering for his attention.

Kaoru hugged her eldest child close to her for several moments, relishing in the close contact. It's been years since she got this much of a welcome from Kenji, since he was a man now and no longer a child. She softly stroked his red hair, cooing into his ear. "I missed you too, son."

He hadn't heard that word from anyone in a long time, and he was unable to stop the tears that filled his eyes as they spilled forth and streamed down his cheeks freely. "Kaa-san." He murmured into her hair. He closed his eyes and hugged her closer, afraid that the next time he opened them, she would be gone and all of this was going to be just a dream again.

"It's alright," she continued to coo soothingly. "Daijoubu my baby."

They held each other close for several minutes until the kitchen's door opened. "Koishii, Kairi and Kiyoshi were telling me that…" the newcomer stopped in the middle of his sentence as he took on the scene.

Kenji opened his eyes and saw his father standing in the doorway. The man approached them, looking at them with loving eyes. "Okaeri, Kenji." Kenshin said as he too engulfed his son in a hug.

Kenji merely stared. Now he knew for sure he was dreaming.

"Your mother and I missed you greatly," Kenshin told him. "Did you finish your training?" His father asked as they separated.

"Of course he did, he's my son!" His mother interjected. Almost as if she believed that Kenji could do no wrong and could not conquer anything just for that mere fact. "And besides, you think Hiko-sama would let him come home if he didn't?"

His father laughed and pounded his shoulders. "Of course, of course. You must be tired. Are you hungry?"

"Would you like to rest first?" His mother asked.

"Um," Kenji was still amazed that he was now with both of his parents. His mind had gone blank.

"I see you went to the market first."

"We should have a celebration dinner, in honor of Kenji's homecoming."

Kaoru Himura agreed. "I'll go attend to the students in the dojo and make sure that Kairi and Kiyoshi are doing their swings." She kissed him in the cheek and gave his father a peck on the lips before heading for the dojo.

"Well then," his father picked one of the radishes that he brought home and examined it. "This one looks nice. How about that celebration dinner tonight eh?" He said, smiling at Kenji. "You can go rest up and I'll call you when dinner is ready," he instructed as he made preparations.

"I'll help, otousan." Kenji offered. He didn't know what else to do.

The two redheads worked in perfect synchronization as they cut, peeled and cooked the food. They worked in perfect harmony, as if they've done this same routine a hundred times in the past.

Kenji couldn't keep the goofy grin off of his face. He was back home. Truly, truly home. It was almost as if someone flicked a switch on his brain and the fuzzy memories became clearer.

Tomoe Himura? Tomoe who? His father's first and only wife was Kaoru Himura. They married and started a family years after they met each other in the streets of Tokyo. Their courtship was unusual, since the ex-hitokiri seemed to lack the ability to profess his love for her in the beginning. Their journey together had also included having to go through the likes of a crazed okashira hell-bent on revenge, a badly burned maniac who was trying to take over Japan, a fellow Hiten Mitsurugi Master who wanted to bring about another Revolution, and several others including, but not limited to, the Black Knights and a group of Feng Shui experts. Theirs had not been an easy road, but in the end it worked out and they had had three beautiful children: Kenji, Kiyoshi and Kairi.

After the end of Kenshin Himura's wanderings, he finally decided to rest his uneasy soul in Tokyo and raise a family. The need to help people was still there, so he followed the same path as the Wolf of Mibuu and became a law enforcement officer. Although it was only part-time, it helped paid the bills back in the day where the dojo didn't earn as much due to Kaoru's pregnancy. The settlement that the government decided to give Kenshin for his help regarding the Shishio Makoto and Shogo Amakusa also helped a lot, but his parents didn't seem too keen on touching that as much as possible. They were saving it for emergencies and for their children. They were such great parents.

Nowadays, his father still worked for the police force, as a part-time officer. He also continued to do his favorite past-time – doing the laundry. Gone was the hitokiri of old that wanted to save the world in the expense of his and his family's happiness. There was still that underlying sadness in his deep violet eyes whenever he probably recalled his time as an assassin and soldier of chaos, but he was still able to raise three beautiful children and keep his wife happy.

For Kenji, it was truly a dream come true. If this was a mere dream or a past memory, he didn't want it to end. In between chopping the vegetables, he kept glancing at his father in disbelief and curiosity. He wondered if he remembered… His father didn't show any indication that he did. The former bodyguard felt a bit sad, which was odd compared to the contentment that he had been feeling.

They ate as a family, a happy, contented family. His younger siblings kept their playful banter up to the extent that their mother had to split the remaining tofu in half to keep them from ripping each other's throats out. Life was good.

He didn't need to try and make sense of the hows and whys of it, he decided that he was going to be happy with what he had. He firmly believed in not kicking the gift horse in the mouth.

He watched his family silently. Pleased beyond anything that he could have ever imagined feeling. He watched his parents interact with each other lovingly, from a brief touch to a kind gesture here or there – albeit his mother putting more rice on his father's rice bowl or his father picking some of the choicest portions of the fish and placing it on his mother's meal. Everything seemed so natural. The meal was the best he had ever eaten in his entire life. Did he mentions that life was good yet?

His siblings renewed their normal bickering as their mother ordered them to go take a bath before tucking in for the night. Both uttered moans and groans of protest, but obediently shuffled their feet towards the furo with their mother following not far behind them, intent on making sure that they didn't make a mini-pond out of the bath house.

Standing up, he reached for several dishes and various utensils and started clearing the table. His father did the same thing.

He felt weird for some reason. Not awkward, just weird. How was he supposed to reconcile the two conflicting sets of memories in his mind now? Most things were the same but different, and some things were different, but the same on some level. There was that telltale headache forming in his head again. It was just best to ignore it.

"Son?" His father asked as they continued to clear the table.

"Hai, otousan?"

"So which came first… the chicken or the egg?"

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**A/N: **Teehee… the name Kiyoshi was nicked from my friend. XD

The award goes to RLC for hitting it right on the mark. XD I busted out laughing when I read your review, because I had Back to the Future on the brain when I wrote the last two chapters. :D I wanted a happy ending and wanted to merge the Back to the Future ending with what I saw on SG-Atlantis before, I think I talked about that in my earlier chapter. hehe.

I'm going to miss this story. I'm going to miss seeing the regular reviews of lolo, carebearchan, hitokiri yume :P, colhan, pnaixrose, lily, myks, meeh, gabyhyatt, wolfdaughter… I wonder where Mini Oro went, but I still remember him since he was my first ever reviewer in the history of ever. XD

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story! (group hug) I didn't want to drag it on anymore, since I said I'd end the story like… several chapters ago and then added one thing and another to it, extending its life needlessly. Heh. I hope none of you will hate me for the sudden end… I just haven't been very inspired lately. _Blush _I blame Koyuki-chan whom I text constantly and get nothing done. _Sticks tongue out._

And that's the end of this story. ) I feel sad, like I'm letting go of my baby. Lol I didn't think I could actually do it, since I've been known to lose interest in things quickly. P But because of the faithful reviewers, people who threatened, begged, made me laugh, made me scared and encouraged me just by reviewing, I managed to actually see it through. XD

To all of you – **everyone** who read and reviewed - thank you SO much. Kenji wouldn't have completed his journey if it weren't for you.

Lol Crazy Al-Bhed-Girl, I don't mind if you make it a manga… it's not mine, so why would I? XD Anyone who wants to do a prequel or a sequel or a one-shot, feel free to do so… you'd probably want to reference this fic so as not to confuse people though. Hehe, but yeah, I don't own anything on this Kenshin fic except for the sucky plot. P

I had more reviews on than at MediaMiner, but I still enjoyed reading all of them. D In the end, it might not have made much sense (lol) but I'm not a writer! XD My real life friends don't even know that I write. :P I keep my writer identity a secret. Lol

I hope this story was as good for you as it was for me writing it. Until then… See you around! Ja, minna-san! (throws colorful confetti all over)


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